MMTT4S - Hurricane Coping Advice. Part 2

My last post shared a wise, age-old, proven technique from Jimmy Buffett for dealing with catastrophe – Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On. Simple to say, not always simple to do.

Just because it is hurricane season, however, doesn’t mean catastrophe is inevitable. So, how do we coastal residents handle severe weather preparedness without letting our anxiety spin out of control (in a counter-clockwise motion since we’re in the northern hemisphere)?

Let’s turn to our Sage of Somewhere Hot for a suggestion or two.

In today’s song, appropriately named “Trying to Reason withHurricane Season,” Buffett seems to be briefly journaling about a Key West Sunday spent recovering from a typical Key West Saturday, while “squalls out on the Gulf Stream” are signaling nasty weather on the way.

If you’re one of those old salts who consider hurricane prep old hat and you’re just too old school, and really just too darn old, to panic and leave, then you might subscribe to Buffett’s way of dealing with tropical storms, at least on this particular day. 

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What’s the first thing Jimmy does when he predicts a “big storm coming soon?” Like any Weather Channel-worshipping whipper-snapper, Jimmy hits the hammock. He naps, or passes out more precisely. For a nice-long snooze, too.  Then, just to confirm his lack of anxiety, he heads next door to the bar, probably Louie’s Back Yard (as he refers to it in some of his live versions) for a Bloody Mary. Not a hurricane of the cocktail sort, mind you, but a Bloody Mary. He did just wake up, after all, and I guess hurricane cocktails are rather touristy anyway. As a matter of fact, Jimmy’s only real concern at this moment is if he’ll have to focus on anything outside of his immediate and up-close vicinity. Yep – obvious symptoms of Key West day-after vision impairment. Well, that and the stumbling.

So, it would seem that Jimmy isn’t all that concerned with the possibility of a hurricane. If you’re in the southern Keys, though, there probably aren’t many places to run and hide. Given the state of storm tracking technology back in the 70s as compared to today, Buffett’s reaction is probably a little more commonplace for the time…and place.

Then, Jimmy becomes a little pensive and reflects on his Key West lifestyle, realizing he must slow down at some point. His pace must have been a little fast because he mentions needing some rest and feeling tired more than once. Back in the 70s and even the 80s, Key West was an ideal place to tie one on and the sleep it off. Buffett and his music were heavily influenced by the Key West scene, and vice versa. It seemed to suit his song line. 

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Well, Jimmy catches a brief second wind while strolling down A1A and knows he needs to take advantage of it. So, in the midst of impending inclement weather, Jimmy pens this song while sitting all alone on the beach. Not a bad spot to write a song. Not a bad spot, period.

Unless it’s storming!

Finally, high winds, white caps, and waterspout conditions send Jimmy in to close the shutters and hunker down. No plywood or duct tape. Just a songwriter with a pen and paper, on the way back from a hangover, possibly working his way into a new one, and dreaming of an upcoming trip to Paris. Much like hurricanes have always cleaned out the land in their paths, Jimmy’s insanely paced moments of wallowing in folly clean out his brain and allow him to move on.

Let’s just hope that catastrophe will not strike this summer, whether you prepare with a Bloody Mary or a weather radio and chart. It’s a given, though, that hurricanes will come and go again at some point. When that happens, turn on a Buffett tune (and maybe The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore, possibly muted) and move on. May I suggest something from Buffett's 1975 album A1A?

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