As I write these words, the hurricane tracker is predicting Hurricane Sandy will slam into Atlantic City, New Jersey, about 60 miles south of New York City, on Tuesday morning. Winds are expected to be 80 miles per hour. 

My wife and I went to the grocery store on Saturday to stock up on non-perishable food. The place was so jammed with people that we ditched our shopping cart and got plastic hand-baskets instead. We bought 20 gallons of water, batteries, canned food, and a few other things that seemed obvious. 

On our way down the breakfast cereal isle, I noticed that all of the pop-tarts were gone. And I mean every last one-- brand-name Kellogg's and el-cheapo store brand alike-- had been sold. (I say sold because it's probably too early to be concerned about pop-tart looters.) There was one box of frosted brown sugar cinnamon left on the shelf. It had fallen over sideways, top flaps open, and it was empty. What is it about pop-tarts that makes people flock to them during an emergency? Maybe it's the silvery wrapper: it makes them look like high-tech astronaut food, or military field rations.

On the way home, we stopped at a red traffic light near a church. They had a handwritten sign out front that said "Huricane (sic) Prayer Vigil". Judging by the number of cars parked outside, and the group chanting you could hear from outside, the church was more packed than the supermarket. I suppose the concept is that praying loudly enough will entice God to redirect the storm away from New York, and aim it somewhere more deserving. Like, say, Nova Scotia. I couldn't help but wonder how many of them had supplemented their praying by buying pop-tarts. Just in case.

Has Hurricane Sandy impacted your life yet? Post your updates here as we go along, and let everyone know how you're doing.