Human Condition: Memories of hurricanes and Mom’s potted meat

In 2004, the state of Florida was hit by four hurricanes.

I remember feeling sorry for them. One hurricane in a season is enough, but four is unthinkable.

I also recall listening to a radio interview with Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. In the background, I heard someone call out, “Jeb, we need food.” I was thinking, “What?” It was the day after the hurricane. I always heard you should have three days’ worth of food and water on hand.

That would never have happened at my mom’s house. She took hurricane prep seriously. I guess it was because she had been through so many hurricanes.

Every time we emptied a milk jug, she would rinse it, fill it with water and put it in the garage. We easily had 20 gallons of water in the garage, plenty for drinking and flushing the toilet. She also made sure there were batteries for the flashlights and that our kerosene lamp was full of oil. We had candles as well. Also every year, she bought cans of potted meat, vienna sausages and pork-n-beans, and boxes of saltine crackers. Storms could come, but we would have water and sausages of Vienna to enjoy by candlelight.

Mom continued with the thorough storm prep after my two sisters and me moved out and had families of our own. Then at the end of the season, she would distribute the leftover food to us when we visited.

My dad liked vienna sausages on crackers, but no way he could eat all that she bought. So we would go home with potted meat, vienna sausages, pork-n-beans and crackers. Sometimes I would take a potted meat sandwich to work for lunch. It actually is not bad if you don’t read the ingredient label on the side of the can. And vienna sausages are OK for a snack while watching TV. And you can always use up crackers.

We’ve never been as diligent as my mom about preparation. We would make sure we had batteries and candles. We would have nonperishable food, but things more to our liking. And now that we have a standby generator, we feel a little more comfortable about having plenty of food. I still respect the power of hurricanes and prepare as best I can.

My mom has been gone several years. She’ll never face the threat of hurricanes again, but I’m thankful that she taught us about storm preparation. And every year around June 1, I think about Mom’s “hurricane food” and develop a strange craving for a potted meat sandwich.

— Goodroe lives in Greenwell Springs.

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