Everyone is jittery lately. The hurricanes in the Southern US seem to have taken a large toll on the psyche of many. Even those as far away as us in the Great White North seem to have been affected.

After Katrina hit, the stories about our own Typhoon Frieda came out. I mentioned in a previous entry that it had 'touched' us in 1962 and had a few people take issue with that. That storm of 1962 was one of the worst weather stories the West Coast has ever seen. Many homes destroyed, and power out for days on end. I'm compiling a bit of a story on that for a later date of what my family remembers.

When Katrina wreaked havoc through the Gulf Coast, many local people jumped in to help. Rescue teams, doctors, veterinarians and just regular people ran to help our southern neighbours. It was a proud time. Heart warming to see so many that just wanted to assist others in their time of need.

When Rita started becoming a reality, we began noticing here that people were getting a little more sensationalistic.

My own gas station had a sign that read 'Debit cards down due to Hurricane Rita'. I mean, I know it was a large hurricane, but last I checked, it didn't reach up to Canada!

The other night, at my parent's strata council meeting, someone stood up and asked what preparations were being made for their neighbourhood in the wake of Katrina?

Yesterday, I went out for lunch with some coworkers. They were talking about 'the storm'
in hurried voices.

'Did you hear it's supposed to hit tonight?'
'The rain and the wind are going to be harsh!'
'I hope we don't flood and lose all that product in the back of the yard'
'Did the guys get out there to dig some drainage ditches this morning so we can cope with the surge?'

I thought to myself "Did I miss something?" I am usually very informed with the news, both current and global.

When I came back to my desk, I checked the local news. And it was here. The first storm of the season, it read.

But closer reading forecasted about an inch of rain and winds up to 20 miles an hour.

Um, people, this is fall on the West Coast. It's October. It's what happens!

Last night, it began. It was just a heavy rainstorm, nothing more. There were a few more leaves on the roads this morning and of course, more accidents because people saw rainclouds and forgot how to drive.

People wonder why there wasn't more evacuations during Katrina. Sure, some people were truly trapped and I can understand that. But given the hype that is created over every weather event, or even every security issue, is it any wonder that people are fatigued?

Each and every time the media and the scaremongers whip up into a frenzy, and nothing happens, at least one more person will be turned off the next time something truly does occur.