FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2004
A weekend visitor
Until this summer, I admit I thought little about hurricanes. Each year our local paper printed a hurricane survival guide and local television stations reminded us to be prepared. That meant having canned food, batteries, flashlights, candles, a full tank of gas and nearly everything else you would need for either a quick getaway to a shelter or a long stay in a home without power.
A hurricane hadn't hit my corner of Southwest Florida in nearly 45 years, meaning nearly three generations of longtime residents were spared the horrors of damaging winds and rain. Even 1992's Hurricane Andrew, the standard for American natural disasters, did not do Southwest Florida the harm it did to Homestead on the state's east side.
But when Hurricane Charley changed course and pummeled the quaint Old Florida towns of Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and Arcadia more than a month ago, it forever changed how everyone here views hurricanes' damaging power. Not a day has passed weather hasn't come up in personal or phone conversations. Everyone is an amatuer meterologist now. Even my 7 year old son turned away from his Disney and Nickelodeon cartoons to watch "Storm Stories" and "Weather on the 8s." The natural power of a tornado beats anything Jimmy Neutron can dish out. The weather was once a benign topic to open conversation with before getting to the business of the day. Now such conversations close with, "You're in our thoughts and prayers."
I'm proud of my employers. They held an auction today for the victims of Hurricane Charley even as Hurricane Jeanne flies out of Major Nelson's bottle and potentially in our path. The array of prizes auctioned off and the prices paid for them were astonishing...$500 for a football helmet autographed by Florida football coach Ron Zook (an autograph many Gator fans wanted on a resignation two years ago.) . $1000 for plane trip and hotel in Arizona. Gift baskets, restuarant certificates, DVDs, even a painting by a co-worker...all in the name of people helping each other.
This followed by a week a unique concert during which members and ex-members of classic rock groups AC/DC, Foreigner, and Bad Company performed and raised $80,000 for hurricane relief. The numbers are staggering, so is the damage and the need. I'm glad I was able to contribute a little bit of time and money so far. It reminded me of one of my true beliefs..even here amid the ruins and rebuilding, there is never much but always more.
A hurricane hadn't hit my corner of Southwest Florida in nearly 45 years, meaning nearly three generations of longtime residents were spared the horrors of damaging winds and rain. Even 1992's Hurricane Andrew, the standard for American natural disasters, did not do Southwest Florida the harm it did to Homestead on the state's east side.
But when Hurricane Charley changed course and pummeled the quaint Old Florida towns of Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte and Arcadia more than a month ago, it forever changed how everyone here views hurricanes' damaging power. Not a day has passed weather hasn't come up in personal or phone conversations. Everyone is an amatuer meterologist now. Even my 7 year old son turned away from his Disney and Nickelodeon cartoons to watch "Storm Stories" and "Weather on the 8s." The natural power of a tornado beats anything Jimmy Neutron can dish out. The weather was once a benign topic to open conversation with before getting to the business of the day. Now such conversations close with, "You're in our thoughts and prayers."
I'm proud of my employers. They held an auction today for the victims of Hurricane Charley even as Hurricane Jeanne flies out of Major Nelson's bottle and potentially in our path. The array of prizes auctioned off and the prices paid for them were astonishing...$500 for a football helmet autographed by Florida football coach Ron Zook (an autograph many Gator fans wanted on a resignation two years ago.) . $1000 for plane trip and hotel in Arizona. Gift baskets, restuarant certificates, DVDs, even a painting by a co-worker...all in the name of people helping each other.
This followed by a week a unique concert during which members and ex-members of classic rock groups AC/DC, Foreigner, and Bad Company performed and raised $80,000 for hurricane relief. The numbers are staggering, so is the damage and the need. I'm glad I was able to contribute a little bit of time and money so far. It reminded me of one of my true beliefs..even here amid the ruins and rebuilding, there is never much but always more.
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