'Twas the night before Frances
'Twas the night before Frances, when
all through the state
not a gas pump was pumping,
not a store open late.
All the plywood was hung on the windows with care,
knowing that a hurricane
soon would be there.
The children were ready with flashlights in hand,
while bands from the hurricane covered the land.
And Mama with her Mag-Lite, and I in my cap,
had just filled the bath tub for flushing our c---.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the closet to see what was the matter.
The trees on the fence and the neighbor's roof torn,
gave us all fear of dying in this terrible storm.
With a little wind gust so lively and quick,
I remembered all too clearly our walls weren't brick.
More rapid than eagles her courses they came,
and she whistled, and wafted and surged all the same.
Off shingles! Off siding! Off
rooftops! Off power!
Down trees! Down fences! Down trailers! Down towers!
In the center of Florida she continued to maul,
screaming Blow Away! Blow Away! Blow Away All!
As wind ripped and tossed the debris through the sky,
I peeked out the shutters at the cars floating by.
So we went to the safe-room, my family did do,
with a portable radio and batteries too
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the set,
The end was not coming for a few hours yet!
As I calmed down the kids and was turning around,
through the window it came with a huge crashing sound!
A tree branch it was, all covered in soot,
the wind blew it smack-dab on top of my foot.
A bundle of twigs now lay in a stack,
and my living room looked like it was under attack.
The wind – how it howled! The
storm – very scary!
Alas – my family and I were all too unwary:
The dangers of hurricanes are deadly, you know,
but they’re taken for granted, as
Frances did show
With the winds dying down and the rain slacking off,
I noticed my tool shed was missing its roof.
So I grabbed my last tarp and nailed it on down,
then I got in my car and I headed to town.
The traffic was awful and stores had no ice,
my five gallon cooler would have to suffice.
Generators were scarce – not one left in town,
there were trees on the roads and power lines down
FEMA was ready,
with linemen to work,
electrical companies came in from New York.
When right in the midst of this peculiar routine,
another storm emerged, named Hurricane Jeanne.
I sprang to the car and gave my family a whistle,
then away we all went like a Tomahawk missile.
You could hear us exclaim as we drove out of sight,
"The hell with this place, Vermont seems just right!"
(author unknown)
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New state coin
Projected storm path.
Change of address.
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