The meteorologists who cried wolf

I remember overhearing a discussion about tsunami warnings (back when we lived in paradise/Hawaii). The main gist of the conversation was that the authorities really tried to figure out when to issue tsunami warnings, because if they offered too many, the people would become ignorant toward them, and not heed any sort of warning. Yes, Mayor Harry Kim (who had been in charge of the Hawaii Civil Defense and never seemed to relinquish all of his responsibilities) loved to come on the radio and tell you about any watch/warning that he could think of, but overall, the warnings were warranted.

Since we moved here (about 6 months now), we have had at least 3 tornado warnings. Warnings. Not watches. I can't count how many watches we've had. In this case, I'm just talking warnings. For the first tornado warning, dh was at school. I lit a candle, kept the tv on, and called my parents to tell them I loved them. Dh was in a meeting and unaccessible. I love him too. For the second warning, dh was at school. I kept my flashlight handy (dh makes me keep a small maglite in my purse at all times). I watched tv on the couch. This tornado warning (Tuesday night), the sirens went off. The meteorologists narrowed down the "target areas". Dh and I popped popcorn and watched the lightning out the window, making funny comments about the meteorologists.

I think it's kind of funny, really. Even after living here 6 months, I have no idea what our county shape is. I can look at a map of our state, and know about where ours is, but not have a clue which one it is. Then they start naming roads and subdivisions and I have an idea of some of them in our immediate proximity (the important ones - ie where the grocery store is, where Target is, where Joann Fabrics is, where Maggie Moo's is... you know, the critical stuff). Pretty much, if they could have named our condo building, I think they would have! Dh and I laughed during the five minutes they nearly told us personally to take shelter. We held out for real action. After all, the Florida/Tennessee game was way more interesting than our still-slightly-underdecorated-guest bathroom.

The sirens, in their just-the-perfect-pitch-to-really-annoy-the-poop-out-of-me, are still on. Perhaps we should be more concerned. But we're not.