Hurricane, tropical storm, whatever you want to call it, it wasn't fun. We had lots of rain, a ton of wind, and enough trees on the ground to build a decent house. We're starting to see Dominion Power vehicles on the road, so maybe power will be back up soon.
I've gone out with a few of the neighbors and cleared the roads in our neighborhood. Fortunately, no serious damage by the trees, a few swingsets and sheds damaged, but no homes have any damage other than cosmetic.
This wasn't as bad as Floyd or Isabel, but can you really compare a storm? Some people lost virtually everything they owned. Others did lose everything, their lives.

I'm lucky. My home, my family is safe. I can provide power for my family if it becomes necessary. We were able to cook a hot breakfast and hot coffee on the grill this morning.

As far as misleading news reports, I feel our local news did a fairly decent job. We knew what was going on, where the storm was, and what to expect, and when to expect it. Maybe Irene will be a wake up for some people to prepare better next time. Maybe it won't. You could say that for pretty much anything Mother Nature throws at us...the earthquake earlier in the week, a snowstorm, whatever.

I've seen a few holes in my preps,and plan on acting to take care
of them.

Right now, I hope the folks to the north are making out OK.
Thanks for your time.