Hurricane Ian will test us. Don’t do something stupid, Floridians. Trust me | Opinion

Take it from this veteran journalist, Floridians: Don’t run out in flip-flops to get last-minute supplies at the supermarket to ride out ominous-looking Hurricane Ian.

I did this once in misguided panic — and I slipped, fell flat on my butt, one leg going one way and the right one scraping the asphalt — and I still bear the scars of my foolishness.

Now, as I keep a close eye on Ian — forecast Tuesday afternoon to hit south of Tampa Bay as a Category 3 and bring stormy weather to most of the state — I can’t even remember what was so important to buy that day.

Or, which hurricane menaced us as I nursed bloody, stinging, badly scraped skin.

You would think a somewhat kamikaze reporter who drove into, not away from, the path of Hurricane Elena when it struck the Gulf Coast on Sept. 2, 1985, and was one of the editors shepherding the coverage of Hurricane Andrew on Aug. 24, 1992, would have more common sense.

But there’s a Spanish saying that best sums up such human foibles: en casa de herrero, cuchillo de palo, at the blacksmith’s house, a wooden knife is used.

READ MORE: Hurricane Ian now a fierce Cat 3 as track shifts south and early rains sweep Florida

Hurricane injuries

And I was, unfortunately, in good company not doing the right thing.

Many hurricane injuries occur during the preparation stage — a fall off a ladder, an angry fight, car accidents — and after the storm passes, when people do stupid things like wade through flooded streets where there may be downed power lines.

I learned some lessons the hard way and I won’t underestimate Ian, expected as of this writing to be mostly a flood-causing event in already saturated South Florida, as Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava described conditions Tuesday.

I’m as mindful and prepared as people should be upstate, too.

Hurricane tracks shift. It’s gonna be nasty everywhere.

Rule No. 1 of preparedness: Be strategic.

At the start of hurricane season, I make sure standard supplies like batteries, radio, water and canned foods are in stock.

The minute a threat becomes imminent — anything that involves a hit on Cuba is likely to affect us, too — I make a list of what I still need.

I only buy what I need to survive a day or so without electricity (the standard during Cat 4 Irma in 2017 in my neighborhood, which was on its dirty side) — no hoarding. And I go to stores at a time when crowds are the thinnest, very early in the morning or very late at night.

READ MORE: Scenes from Ian: See photos, video from Key West and Cuba as hurricane enters Gulf

For instance, when my family was tailgating at the Dolphins-Bills game Sunday, I made a run to Home Depot, the bank and Whole Foods. I stocked up on things you can’t buy too early like hardy fruits and salads and vegetables that don’t require cooking. I beefed up my usual reserves of canned tuna and fish — and wine and dark chocolate, too.

On Monday, I cooked meals that can keep for a few days and will be the first thing I eat between now and when I lose power.

I didn’t, however, buy more water than I already had.

Instead, I filled with the good county water bottles I reuse — and all those old travel coffee cups and sports bottles I keep for this purpose. It’s the environmentally and budget-friendly thing to do.

I also didn’t fight for what little ice the football game tailgaters left. I keep a supply of ice packs and frozen plastic bags in various sizes at the bottom of the refrigerator in case of a power outage.

And, I’ll be adding more as Ian gets closer and the chances of power outages increase.

Gov. Ron DeSantis was right when he warned Floridians on Tuesday not to take risks: “Mother Nature is a very fearsome adversary.”

Yet, there are always fools who do things like going outside to retrieve something when it’s too late.

Leave it.

The time to gather and bring inside objects able to take off in strong winds is now, before the storm hits — not when the storm is passing over us. During Wilma, neighbors left a plastic trash can outside that I’m sure they either overlooked or thought harmless.

But it spent the entire time battering my front porch and banging into my front door.

The first bang was scary as hell. I was shuttered in and had no idea what it was. I let it go. Had I not, I might have lost a door.

If you remember anything, remember this: Thou shall not do anything before or during a hurricane that entails overreacting induced by fear.

Rather, you want to subdue dread and soothe anxiety. That’s what the wine is for.