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I can not explain the gratitude and relief that propells me now.
I have started loading the car and John's inside collecting things I have missed. Vinnie thinks this is a delightful game. I can see Mum running around doing the same as us, filling her station wagon with Stuff. It seems the 121 had no petrol, so John had gone to get some. His first stop had a half an hour wait, and then three cars from the bowser, ran out of fuel. Since the car is little, he managed to get it out of the resultant car jam. People were still being civil, but it was an odd civility with an edge to it.
The second petrol station was also a half an hour wait - and he managed to fill up. But then the yard was so full of cars trying to get in that he could not get out. By the time he left, that petrol station was emptied of fuel too, and people were starting to look angry and worried. Between running back and forth, we decided we'd take the Albany Highway route, and then cut back across to Brunswick/Bunbury area. The freeways and highways heading directly south were already filling up, and it seemed Albany Highway was not yet busy. Tonkin was peak hour, at 11:00 on a Thursday. My skin crawled as I thought of the cars from Perth to Bunbury, just like a public holiday. Except public holidays did not include the panic of families and people on the run.
John kept stacking stuff on top of my diminishing pile. He stopped, and started to help shove stuff into the car. We loaded Vinnie into his seat, and ended up piling stuf onto his lap as well as under my car seat and onto my chair for my own lap. He'd grabbed the medicine cabinet and metho, a few tools from the shed and a couple of the bigger knives from the kitchen. Finally, he had added a book - "The Really Useful Kitchen Drawer Reference Companion." Which really was, as advertised, really useful. I smiled even in my panic.
Sweaty, gasping, and panicky, we stared at each other. We were done. Vinnie began to cry in the car, from being strapped into place and then ignored for so long.
"You drive to Mums and help her out. I'll lock up, and put the cat biscuits outside. I'll cut it open." Id bought the 11 kilos of cat biscuits only Tuesday morning. I nodded, and gave him a quick kiss.
Mum was mostly done. Dad had agreed to come home, but the traffic was building. Mum was in a tizzy, and had started to pack *anything* she could find in her pantry. I was happy with this since I had discarded tea, and coffee as not important. I suggested that she dump stuff for dad's fourwheel drive on the front yard, and they just chucked it in when he got home. She nodded, glad to have something to do when she had filled her own car.
"You have go now," she told me, looking at Vinnie. "You can;t wait for us now. I've got your map and your instructions. The power's still running and I have the phone number for the farm. Just go now." I didn't want to. She knew I had been dithering. John came jogging up the road from our house.
"All done."
"You guys need to go," Mum told him too. He agreed. I dripped silent tears as we left. I watched Mum from the car. John put a hand on my knee as I tried to stop crying, but I had a horrible feeling I'd never see either Mumor Dad again. The car radio was already set to the ABC, but softly as it only played classical music. It was bright and shining outside, a gorgeous day. Birds flitted and zipped across the sky, and a couple of people were gardening. I wondered if we were panicking and should stay home - but I had yet to hear John's story about work. My roaming access to internet was going to get very flakey soon, but I still feel I need to document everything. This may be the only thing we leave behind ourselves.
Hopefully I will update again later. My life is in ruins, and I want to know all my loved ones are safe, so I will check online as often as I can. We still have power, and the phones still seem to be working. I love you guys. Please stay safe.
I have started loading the car and John's inside collecting things I have missed. Vinnie thinks this is a delightful game. I can see Mum running around doing the same as us, filling her station wagon with Stuff. It seems the 121 had no petrol, so John had gone to get some. His first stop had a half an hour wait, and then three cars from the bowser, ran out of fuel. Since the car is little, he managed to get it out of the resultant car jam. People were still being civil, but it was an odd civility with an edge to it.
The second petrol station was also a half an hour wait - and he managed to fill up. But then the yard was so full of cars trying to get in that he could not get out. By the time he left, that petrol station was emptied of fuel too, and people were starting to look angry and worried. Between running back and forth, we decided we'd take the Albany Highway route, and then cut back across to Brunswick/Bunbury area. The freeways and highways heading directly south were already filling up, and it seemed Albany Highway was not yet busy. Tonkin was peak hour, at 11:00 on a Thursday. My skin crawled as I thought of the cars from Perth to Bunbury, just like a public holiday. Except public holidays did not include the panic of families and people on the run.
John kept stacking stuff on top of my diminishing pile. He stopped, and started to help shove stuff into the car. We loaded Vinnie into his seat, and ended up piling stuf onto his lap as well as under my car seat and onto my chair for my own lap. He'd grabbed the medicine cabinet and metho, a few tools from the shed and a couple of the bigger knives from the kitchen. Finally, he had added a book - "The Really Useful Kitchen Drawer Reference Companion." Which really was, as advertised, really useful. I smiled even in my panic.
Sweaty, gasping, and panicky, we stared at each other. We were done. Vinnie began to cry in the car, from being strapped into place and then ignored for so long.
"You drive to Mums and help her out. I'll lock up, and put the cat biscuits outside. I'll cut it open." Id bought the 11 kilos of cat biscuits only Tuesday morning. I nodded, and gave him a quick kiss.
Mum was mostly done. Dad had agreed to come home, but the traffic was building. Mum was in a tizzy, and had started to pack *anything* she could find in her pantry. I was happy with this since I had discarded tea, and coffee as not important. I suggested that she dump stuff for dad's fourwheel drive on the front yard, and they just chucked it in when he got home. She nodded, glad to have something to do when she had filled her own car.
"You have go now," she told me, looking at Vinnie. "You can;t wait for us now. I've got your map and your instructions. The power's still running and I have the phone number for the farm. Just go now." I didn't want to. She knew I had been dithering. John came jogging up the road from our house.
"All done."
"You guys need to go," Mum told him too. He agreed. I dripped silent tears as we left. I watched Mum from the car. John put a hand on my knee as I tried to stop crying, but I had a horrible feeling I'd never see either Mumor Dad again. The car radio was already set to the ABC, but softly as it only played classical music. It was bright and shining outside, a gorgeous day. Birds flitted and zipped across the sky, and a couple of people were gardening. I wondered if we were panicking and should stay home - but I had yet to hear John's story about work. My roaming access to internet was going to get very flakey soon, but I still feel I need to document everything. This may be the only thing we leave behind ourselves.
Hopefully I will update again later. My life is in ruins, and I want to know all my loved ones are safe, so I will check online as often as I can. We still have power, and the phones still seem to be working. I love you guys. Please stay safe.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-06-14 04:13 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-06-14 04:15 am (UTC)From::-)
http://myelvesaredifferent.blogspot.com/2007/06/where-to-find-zombie-news.html
no subject
Date: 2007-06-14 06:18 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-06-14 08:07 am (UTC)From::-)
no subject
Date: 2007-06-14 06:20 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-06-14 08:08 am (UTC)From::-)
I had a LOT of fun with this *grin*
no subject
Date: 2007-06-14 07:57 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-06-14 08:07 am (UTC)From:thanks! That's a huge compliment! John was creeped out too, and suggested I should write horror LOL
:-)
no subject
Date: 2007-06-14 03:04 pm (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-06-15 12:02 am (UTC)From:Another huge compliment!
:-)
no subject
Date: 2007-06-15 01:12 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-06-15 01:26 am (UTC)From::-)
no subject
Date: 2007-06-16 11:48 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-06-16 11:49 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-06-18 12:47 am (UTC)From:no subject
Date: 2007-06-18 02:13 am (UTC)From:Should I just give up normal blogging and keep going with this?
:-)
no subject
Date: 2007-06-20 04:15 am (UTC)From: (Anonymous)Well done
no subject
Date: 2007-06-20 07:24 am (UTC)From::-)