IN CASE YOU'VE BEEN HIDING UNDER A ROCK...

Today marks the first day of the 2006 hurricane season.

While it seems as though we have had more than our share of hurricane activity over the past couple of years, Dr. William Gray and his team at Colorado State University expect another busy period this time around. The prediction is for 17 tropical storms, with nine of those becoming hurricanes and five of those becoming "major" with strength of Catagory 3 (highest sustained winds of 110 MPH) or higher on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

Of course, anyone living in this part of the country should take these things very seriously...just ask anyone living in or near New Orleans or along the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Katrina. And while those of us in Polk County are well inland (30-50 miles), don't think we're out of the woods. Just ask anyone in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 90 miles inland from Gulfport/Biloxi after Katrina. Many people in my hometown suffered significant damage.

My own memories of a big-time hurricane go back to when I was but 11 years of age, in 1969 when Camille struck. We might have been well inland, but it was among the scariest times of my life. I'll never forget my grandmother taking me and a cousin for a drive one Sunday afternoon about six months later along U.S. Highway 90, which goes right along the beach. It will remain inbedded in my mind forever that among the old antebellum homes along the beachfront there was a huge cargo ship which had been swept over the beach and the four lane highway, sitting in the front yard of one of those old, beautiful homes.

It should be noted that almost of those old homes, including Confederate president Jefferson Davis' final home Beaviour, survived the direct hit of Camille...but were levelled by Katrina.

And one other memory of that time was the story of a group of young people deciding they would have a "hurricane party" in one of the beachfront hotels. About 20+ people lost their lives as a result when the building was brought down by the wind and water.

The reminder here is simple: PLEASE take these storms seriously, and be prepared by stocking up on possible necessaties. The "tax vacation" on supplies ends today.