(no subject)
I feel terrible saying thank God the hurricane veered a little of course at the last minute and ravaged towns only an hour and a half away from where I live, but thank God. When I read that first news bulletin online yesterday that it appeared as if Charley was now headed to the south of Tampa Bay but was upgraded to a category 4, I was so relieved. I had finally gotten to talk to my stepdad who called us at 5am FL time, 10am UK time and told us he had gotten home in time and boarded up our house and moved everything up off the ground and was going to stay and ride it out rather than evacuate. So I felt a bit better knowing he had done as much as he could to protect our home. And he had left my cat at his Mom's house in Ocala :) But I was still out of my mind with worry about Nicole and Alan, neither of whom I'd heard from since Thursday morning. From all the reports about storm surge and flooding, if Charley had stayed on course, Nicole's house would have surely been gone, completely submerged. And Alan's 5th floor condo on Sand Key... I don't even know how that would have withstood the force. Now, having seen the pictures of what it did to Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte, I realize that if fate hadn't stepped in and changed the course of that storm, the horrendous damage I saw in those photos would have been wrecked on my home town and county. I kept imagining going home next week and seeing all of the familiar places I love so much just torn apart, demolished and forever changed. This really made me realize how much I love the place I spent half of my life growing up. Thinking about it being destroyed or changed broke my heart. I will never take for granted living in such a beautiful place ever again.
Those pictures could so easily have been one of my/my friend's/my family member's house, street, town...
I also remember vacationing in Punta Gorda a few years ago with my family... it's such a quaint, charming town. Now, houses and businesses are wrecked and gone and the streets are full of debris. And this could easily have been my home. And still could be someday in the future given the frequency of hurricanes off the west coast of Florida. So right now I feel very thankful and very lucky to know that everyone is safe and that my house and home town are going to still be there, intact, when I get back.
Thank you so much to all of you who commented on my last post and wished me the best... I appreciate it and love you all :)
Those pictures could so easily have been one of my/my friend's/my family member's house, street, town...
I also remember vacationing in Punta Gorda a few years ago with my family... it's such a quaint, charming town. Now, houses and businesses are wrecked and gone and the streets are full of debris. And this could easily have been my home. And still could be someday in the future given the frequency of hurricanes off the west coast of Florida. So right now I feel very thankful and very lucky to know that everyone is safe and that my house and home town are going to still be there, intact, when I get back.
Thank you so much to all of you who commented on my last post and wished me the best... I appreciate it and love you all :)