Doin' a heckuva job there, Waffley!

If you've ever been down South, you know there are lots of things you'll see everywhere.  Among them are hurricanes, and Waffle Houses. 

So one bad, one good, the way I figure.

But what do they have in common?  Well, according to the Wall Street Journal, the good folks at FEMA - the Federal Emergency Management Agency - use the statuses of local Waffle Houses as an indicator of how things are in local communities after hurricanes pass by.


Let's say a hurricane, let's call it "Sarah", blows in   lots of hot air and wind, a destructive force of nature. After she's moved on back to Alaska the storm is over,  FEMA checks with the local wafflemeisters.  If everything is cooking fine and there are plenty of supplies and all is well, that's Code Green.  If supplies and menu offerings are limited, and the restaurant is on generator power, it's Code Yellow time.  And Code Red is for when the Waffle House in town is closed.  That's the worst sign of all, except for when they all run out of syrup.  Shown here is the Waffle House Emergency Response Vehicle, used for such exigencies.

I checked the date on the original story and it was not written on April 1.  This is a true story and I share it with you so that you can plan that Southern trip with full knowledge of how things are in the sunny Southland.

Mmmm.  Waffles!