Re: OT: Hurricane Charley

[Guest guest]

Its a cat 4 now???

[Guest guest]

Yikes! Hold on and stay safe.

- Edith

sherby2k wrote:

> Hi guys,

>

> Well, we're staring down the throat of what is now a category 4

> hurricane - anybody else in the Tampa Bay area?

>

> I can't help but reflect on the last time I faced a major hurricane,

> I was in high school in MA and still living with nada. And I'm so

> thankful for how far I've come, for all the blessings I've been

> given, for a beautiful home and good relationships, improving health,

> and definitely much more sanity than I had back then:).

>

> Anyway, to those living nearby, good luck and stay safe. To everyone

> else, wish us luck .

>

>

[Guest guest]

Looks like you got real lucky! I live in orlando and he came right

for me. It too reminded me of the Hurrican . I was living with

my nada then too. After surviving nada and Charley, I choose

Charley. He was much more honest. I knew we were in for trouble, he

didn't try to hide it! =) I made out ok. I just got power after 2

days and I lsot most of my trees and part of my roof. It coudl have

been worse. I am very lucky compared to some. Keep them all in your

prayers.

> Hi guys,

>

> Well, we're staring down the throat of what is now a category 4

> hurricane - anybody else in the Tampa Bay area?

>

> I can't help but reflect on the last time I faced a major

hurricane,

> I was in high school in MA and still living with nada. And I'm so

> thankful for how far I've come, for all the blessings I've been

> given, for a beautiful home and good relationships, improving

health,

> and definitely much more sanity than I had back then:).

>

> Anyway, to those living nearby, good luck and stay safe. To

everyone

> else, wish us luck .

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi jpoll23,

Glad you made it through okay, if a little lighter on trees than

before. And LOL how true - I'd take a hurricane over nada any day!

At least I know what I'm up against. Funny you should say that, my

nada called after Charley came through because she was " concerned " .

I told my husband that out of all the natural disasters I've ever

experienced, she was definitely the worst.

> > Hi guys,

> >

> > Well, we're staring down the throat of what is now a category 4

> > hurricane - anybody else in the Tampa Bay area?

> >

> > I can't help but reflect on the last time I faced a major

> hurricane,

> > I was in high school in MA and still living with nada. And I'm

so

> > thankful for how far I've come, for all the blessings I've been

> > given, for a beautiful home and good relationships, improving

> health,

> > and definitely much more sanity than I had back then:).

> >

> > Anyway, to those living nearby, good luck and stay safe. To

> everyone

> > else, wish us luck .

> >

> >

[Guest guest]

One of my fondest childhood memories was Hurricane Hazel. The night

it hit, my parents had gone out somewhere, leaving me and my sister

(about 11 and 5) home alone. They practically never went out in the

evening, I don't know why they chose to go out the night the

hurricane was forecast to hit. So they didn't get home that night,

and my sister and I hid under a bed and listened to the wind howling

and trees crashing down. It was scary but exciting, and we didn't

wish our parents were there.

After that the power was off for 8 days and we had to cook in the

fireplace and pump water by hand. It was a glorious adventure.

- Dan

[Guest guest]

Hi Dan,

Yes! Yes! We KOs do have some good memories. I can remember when my dad

was going camping with the Boy Scouts (he was a Boy Scout leader) and my

nada tried to make a jug of cocoa. But she lost count re the sugar and

then had to sweeten it to taste (after raging at my dad). We weren't

allowed to taste it and she never made cocoa for us but I've always

imagined that it must have tasted goooood.

- Edith

Dan wrote:

> One of my fondest childhood memories was Hurricane Hazel. The night

> it hit, my parents had gone out somewhere, leaving me and my sister

> (about 11 and 5) home alone. They practically never went out in the

> evening, I don't know why they chose to go out the night the

> hurricane was forecast to hit. So they didn't get home that night,

> and my sister and I hid under a bed and listened to the wind howling

> and trees crashing down. It was scary but exciting, and we didn't

> wish our parents were there.

>

> After that the power was off for 8 days and we had to cook in the

> fireplace and pump water by hand. It was a glorious adventure.

>

> - Dan

[Guest guest]

When " Charley " swerved east instead of hitting Tampa, it came here,

Southwest Florida. We made it through with no major damage, we live

in Cape Coral FL, we just got electricity restored last night, one

full week of no a/c in 90 degree + weather, not fun! The hardest hit

area is about 30 miles north of where I live, that is where the eye

of the hurricane hit land, Charlotte county Florida. We took cover

in the bathroom for a couple of hours, me the b/f and the cats. We

lost a shutter and some roof tiles, our apartment building is the

best looking one in the neighborhood now. Trees down, power lines

down, roofs gone, cars smashed, it's just unbelievable.

Two days later, we got phone service, the first call we made was to

my b/f's nada, who bitched at us for not calling her sooner, which as

I tried to explain to her would have been difficult, as we had no

phone service and we (people who live in this area) were asked to

stay in our homes for the first couple of days. But that wasn't a

good enough excuse because, she'd left us a message (on voice mail)

and we " ignored " it. Sigh.. Nice to know she was concerned. She

didn't even ask us if we had any damage or if we were going to be OK

in the heat without power, or if we had any hurricane supplies, food,

water, etc.. Our neighbors showed more concern for us than she did.

The next call was to my sister, who we had heard from about 1 hour

after the storm had passed when we still had some cell phone service

(enough to hear her " we're ok " message.) She told us thier house had

power restored to it the next day, and that it wasn't so bad (to not

have power) and that " we " are all just spoiled. She then offered for

us to come stay at her house, (where fada also was because his home

was in a mandatory evacuation area) I politely declined the

offer. ) Not even on a " good day " do I want to hang out with him.

Thankfully, the next call (one I recieved, instead of made,)was from

someone who really, genuinely cared if we were OK. That call made my

whole week a little easier!

I think though that I've learned how to feel fortunate but still not

gloss over the fact that we've had a rough week. I used to hear of

people who had it " worse " than me and shame myself for " feeling

sorry " for my own problems. I'm still wondering how we managed to

make it through a whole week without any major emotional breakdowns

(OK, not counting immediately after the dissapointing FOO calls) or

even any arguments. Everybody down here is stressed to the max, but

people are for the most part, being so patient and kind to each other

it's really cool.

Still, keep the people who lost homes, loved ones, jobs and basically

everything they had, in your thoughts. It's going to take a long

time for things to get back to " normal, " if that's even possible in

some places. Whew, now why did I want to live in Florida? haha )

> > Looks like you got real lucky! I live in orlando and he came

> > right for me. It too reminded me of the Hurrican . I was

> > living with my nada then too. After surviving nada and Charley, I

> > choose Charley. He was much more honest. I knew we were in for

> > trouble, he didn't try to hide it! =) I made out ok. I just got

> > power after 2 days and I lsot most of my trees and part of my

> > roof. It coudl have been worse. I am very lucky compared to some.

> > Keep them all in your prayers.

[Guest guest]

A-OK. Its good to hear from the KOs in Florida.

I wondered all week about how our KOs there were doing.

- Edith

anyrae wrote:

> When " Charley " swerved east instead of hitting Tampa, it came here,

> Southwest Florida. We made it through with no major damage, we live

> in Cape Coral FL, we just got electricity restored last night, one

> full week of no a/c in 90 degree + weather, not fun! The hardest hit

> area is about 30 miles north of where I live, that is where the eye

> of the hurricane hit land, Charlotte county Florida. We took cover

> in the bathroom for a couple of hours, me the b/f and the cats. We

> lost a shutter and some roof tiles, our apartment building is the

> best looking one in the neighborhood now. Trees down, power lines

> down, roofs gone, cars smashed, it's just unbelievable.

>

> Two days later, we got phone service, the first call we made was to

> my b/f's nada, who bitched at us for not calling her sooner, which as

> I tried to explain to her would have been difficult, as we had no

> phone service and we (people who live in this area) were asked to

> stay in our homes for the first couple of days. But that wasn't a

> good enough excuse because, she'd left us a message (on voice mail)

> and we " ignored " it. Sigh.. Nice to know she was concerned. She

> didn't even ask us if we had any damage or if we were going to be OK

> in the heat without power, or if we had any hurricane supplies, food,

> water, etc.. Our neighbors showed more concern for us than she did.

>

> The next call was to my sister, who we had heard from about 1 hour

> after the storm had passed when we still had some cell phone service

> (enough to hear her " we're ok " message.) She told us thier house had

> power restored to it the next day, and that it wasn't so bad (to not

> have power) and that " we " are all just spoiled. She then offered for

> us to come stay at her house, (where fada also was because his home

> was in a mandatory evacuation area) I politely declined the

> offer. ) Not even on a " good day " do I want to hang out with him.

>

> Thankfully, the next call (one I recieved, instead of made,)was from

> someone who really, genuinely cared if we were OK. That call made my

> whole week a little easier!

>

> I think though that I've learned how to feel fortunate but still not

> gloss over the fact that we've had a rough week. I used to hear of

> people who had it " worse " than me and shame myself for " feeling

> sorry " for my own problems. I'm still wondering how we managed to

> make it through a whole week without any major emotional breakdowns

> (OK, not counting immediately after the dissapointing FOO calls) or

> even any arguments. Everybody down here is stressed to the max, but

> people are for the most part, being so patient and kind to each other

> it's really cool.

>

> Still, keep the people who lost homes, loved ones, jobs and basically

> everything they had, in your thoughts. It's going to take a long

> time for things to get back to " normal, " if that's even possible in

> some places. Whew, now why did I want to live in Florida? haha )

>

>

>

>>

>>>Looks like you got real lucky! I live in orlando and he came

>>>right for me. It too reminded me of the Hurrican . I was

>>>living with my nada then too. After surviving nada and Charley, I

>>>choose Charley. He was much more honest. I knew we were in for

>>>trouble, he didn't try to hide it! =) I made out ok. I just got

>>>power after 2 days and I lsot most of my trees and part of my

>>>roof. It coudl have been worse. I am very lucky compared to some.

>>>Keep them all in your prayers.

[Guest guest]

Hey !

Are you not the person that has a bear mascot that wears very

special shirts? I think I remember talking to you over a year ago.

Missy

[Guest guest]

Hi !

I'm glad you posted to let us know you're ok - when Charley started

to turn I thought of all the people I knew who were in its path, and

I remembered you were down in the Ft. Myers area, so my thoughts and

prayers were with you as well. We prepared for Charley, but judging

by what I've seen, we weren't ready for a storm like that. It's been

sobering to see pictures of the aftermath.

Take care,

-- In ModOasis , " anyrae " <anyrae75@a...> wrote:

> When " Charley " swerved east instead of hitting Tampa, it came here,

> Southwest Florida.