This reminds me of my youth. A local neighborhood tavern and pizza place was right next to a creek that flooded during major storms. A bunch of us teenagers would head over when the water receded to help clean up. In exchange the owner would give everyone free pizza and beer. The legal drinking age was 18 back then, but I don't recall him ever checking ID's.

Now Irene is bearing down on us. If it tracks anywhere in the cone the NOAA is predicting, we'll be well within range of hurricane-force winds. In preparation for this monumental occasion, my son and I got haircuts, ate sushi for dinner, and stopped by the liquor store to replenish the emergency beer and scotch supplies. We just went camping last weekend with a bunch of Jeepers, and because of rain we had a lot of food, water and soft drinks leftover due to no-shows. Added to my normal emergency supplies, the two of us could go for over a month without leaving the house. Of course living on burgers, hot dogs and chips would get boring, which explains the alcohol. Alas that tavern is a distant memory, both in time and miles.

Oh yeah, we also checked the trees near the house for dead limbs, stowed any outdoors items that might get blown about, made sure the generators started and the all the gas cans and vehicles were full of gas. I've also got a couple sheets of plywood in case a window breaks. Being uphill, my biggest concern is wind damage and extended power outages.

My other concern is my daughter. I just dropped her yesterday for her freshman year at college. I'm not happy with the limited preparedness items she agreed to bring with her. But that's another topic.