>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>
>>>>>>'Twas the night before Frances
>>>>>>When all through the state
>>>>>>Not a gas pump was pumping
>>>>>>Not a store open late
>>>>>>
>>>>>>All the plywood was hung
>>>>>>On the windows with care
>>>>>>Knowing that a hurricane
>>>>>>Soon would be there
>>>>>>
>>>>>>The children were ready
>>>>>>With flashlights in hand
>>>>>>While bands from the hurricane
>>>>>>Covered over the land
>>>>>>
>>>>>>And mamma with her Mag-Lite
>>>>>>And I in my cap
>>>>>>Had just filled the bath tub
>>>>>>For flushing our crap
>>>>>>
>>>>>>When out on the lawn
>>>>>>There arose such a clatter
>>>>>>I sprang from the closet
>>>>>>To see what was the matter
>>>>>>
>>>>>>The trees on the fence
>>>>>>And the neighbor's roof torn
>>>>>>Gave the fear of us dying
>>>>>>In this terrible storm
>>>>>>
>>>>>>With a little wind gust
>>>>>>So lively and quick
>>>>>>I remembered quite clearly
>>>>>>Our walls weren't brick
>>>>>>
>>>>>>More rapid than eagles
>>>>>>Her courses they came
>>>>>>And she whistled, and wafted
>>>>>>And surged all the same
>>>>>> Off shingles! Off sidings!
>>>>>>Off rooftops! Off power!
>>>>>>Down trees! Down fences!
>>>>>>Down trailers! Down towers!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>In the center of Florida
>>>>>>She continued to maul
>>>>>>Screaming Blow Away!
>>>>>>Blow Away! Blow Away All!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>As wind ripped and tossed
>>>>>>The debris through the sky
>>>>>>I peeked out the shutters
>>>>>>At cars floating by
>>>>>>
>>>>>>So go to the safe-room
>>>>>>My family did do
>>>>>>With a portable radio
>>>>>>And batteries too
>>>>>>
>>>>>>And then, in a twinkling
>>>>>>I heard on the set
>>>>>>The end was not coming
>>>>>>For a few hours yet!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>As I calmed down the kids
>>>>>>And was turning around
>>>>>>Through the window it came
>>>>>>With a huge crashing sound
>>>>>>
>>>>>>A tree branch it was
>>>>>>All covered in soot
>>>>>>The wind blew it smack-dab
>>>>>>On top of my foot
>>>>>>
>>>>>>A bundle of twigs
>>>>>>Now lay in a stack
>>>>>>And my living room looks
>>>>>>Like it was under attack
>>>>>>
>>>>>>The wind - how it howled!
>>>>>>The storm - very scary!
>>>>>>Myself and the family
>>>>>>Were all too unwary
>>>>>> The dangers of hurricanes
>>>>>>Are serious, you know
>>>>>>They are taken for granted
>>>>>>As Frances did show
>>>>>>
>>>>>>With the winds dying down
>>>>>>And the danger beneath
>>>>>>I noticed my tool shed
>>>>>>Was missing its sheath
>>>>>>
>>>>>>So I grabbed my last tarp
>>>>>>And nailed it on down
>>>>>>Then I got in my car
>>>>>>And I headed to town
>>>>>>
>>>>>>The traffic was awful
>>>>>>And stores had no ice
>>>>>>My five gallon cooler
>>>>>>Would have to suffice
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Generators were scarce
>>>>>>Not one left in town
>>>>>>There were trees on the roads
>>>>>>And power lines down
>>>>>>
>>>>>>FEMA was ready
>>>>>>With people to work
>>>>>>Electrical companies
>>>>>>Came in from New York
>>>>>>
>>>>>>And in the midst of
>>>>>>This peculiar routine
>>>>>>Another storm emerged
>>>>>>Named Hurricane Jeanne
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I sprang to the car
>>>>>>And gave my family a whistle
>>>>>>Then away we all went
>>>>>>Like a Tomahawk missile
>>>>>>
>>>>>>You could hear us exclaim
>>>>>>As we drove out of sight
>>>>>>"The hell with this place,
>>>>>>Vermont seems just right!"
>>
>>
