Sometimes people can be very stubborn - particularly older folks - when asked to evacuate their homes because of a hurricane threat.

They might need extra motivation to clear out, Jay Baker, a professor of behavioral geography at Florida State University, said during a morning session at the National Hurricane Conference today in Orlando.

Baker relayed the story of one older gentleman who steadfastly refused to leave his home, even as Hurricane Frederic approached the Alabama and Mississippi Gulf coasts in September 1979.

Two firefighters ended up going to the man's house to convince him to leave. Despite their urgings, he still refused, Baker said.

The firefighters then had the man sign a form saying they tried to get him to evacuate, but he ignored their warnings. The man said, "Just give me the form, I'll sign it, now leave me alone," or words to that effect.

"One firefighter turned to the other and said, I think he'd be a size 8," as the story goes.

"Size 8? What does that mean?" the old man asked.

"That would be the size of the body bag," the firefighter responded. "We have to order the body bags in advance."

To which the old man said, "Just a moment. Let me get my hat."