One Woman Faces Down One Big Storm: Happy Ending

We left Michele heading into dangerous Florida streets flooded by Isaac. Her final emails celebrate survival and gratitude as she and her neighbors clean up after the storm.

Monday Afternoon:

Going downtown to Ft. Lauderdale to call for my friend post-op, I could drive only in the middle lane as the inner and outer lanes were flooded.  In spots, the visibility was nada.  I arrived at the doctor’s office shaking.

The trip home took half the time, no problems, roads clear.  Looked like it was clearing up. Dropped my girlfriend off at her home and took my dogs out in my soggy side yard. Then, before we could get inside, the skies opened up once again and we got caught.

Call just came from Management:  We are experiencing flooding and DO NOT WALK THROUGH FLOODED AREAS.  There may be glass, bacteria and SNAKES.

Immediately finished the much needed chocolate before hubby comes home. Fortunately, this was a tropical disturbance.  I was able to laugh my way through it.  However, a real hurricane is devastating.  I’ve experienced a few of those – waiting on line and searching for water, gas and food, no electricity for days, terrible heat,  fallen trees, getting a new roof and even then we were lucky here – very lucky.

Thursday Afternoon:

Been very busy trying to get house back in order--downed tree cut and already taken away (again with son’s help), plants and yard things out of house, creepy crawlies still living here.  Management has cleaned up our property outside but there’s still a lot to be done.  There are repairmen all over the place. One hears the sounds of mowing, sees roofs awaiting to be replaced, and yet we were so fortunate. Monday, we received a foot of rain, fast and furious. 

I feel very guilty about my light-hearted approach to the storm when I see the damage it has done to the Gulf Coast and all those poor people.  Truly, when it gets really serious, so do I. Thanks for caring, everyone out there.

Here comes the sun!

Love,
Michele

Hurricanes, blackouts, earthquakes, tornadoes, and derechos (lines of heavy winds and fierce thunderstorms that swept through the Mid-Atlantic states recently),we seem to be experiencing a period of unusually intense weather. Do you have a disaster plan in place for "just in case?"  Besides the standard flashlights and bottled water, what items do you think are essential to keep at the ready? How does your disaster plan help protect you and your family? And don't forget the pets.
~ Toby Devens

 

 

 

 

One Woman Faces Down One Big Storm: Michele vs. Isaac

Michele and I have been friends since childhood. A pretty, quick-witted girl grew into a strong, bright and beautiful woman. Her town in Florida has been hit hard by previous hurricanes and this time was slated to be slammed by Isaac. Her emails began arriving Saturday night, with periodic updates since. Tinged with defiant humor at first, they turned scary today. I'll post later to let you know when she and her neighbors are out of danger.

Saturday Night:
So far, I'm having a lovely hurricane.

Thursday, my husband and his friend flew off to follow the Miami Marlins for a triple header in Los Angeles. The boys are having a blast. I'm here alone.

Thursday afternoon, our air conditioning started leaking. Repairman said we needed two new a/c systems--$9,000 and I shouldn’t use the a/c in the meantime! Temperature is in the 90’s, humidity over 1000%. And today, Isaac decided to hit the Keys.

I cannot close my shutters which we installed after Hurricane Andrew. My son is coming tomorrow A.M. (if this hurricane doesn’t strike by then) to close them. He’s as handy as I am with anything mechanical. And I have two left hands.

I've gotten drenched 3 times walking the dogs. I was almost run off the road by cars on my way to purchase water & dog food. Water in FL is more valuable than gasoline and practically sold out.

But other than that, I’m having a lovely hurricane.

I've already eaten 1/2 jar of choc. covered toffee (delish and purchased in Costco if anyone is interested) AND...7 choc. chip cookies I baked with 7 more to go.

Did I say having a wonderful time? Well let me clarify then that I hope your day is better!

I’ve got to laugh --crying will give me wrinkles.

Oh, where did I put the damn potato chips I bought for a special occasion....

Love,

Michele

 

Sunday Morning:
Heard from a friend in New York complaining about the humidity there. Spoiled brats!!!!!!

I went to bed at midnight. Was awakened by American Airlines cancelling husband's flight out of L.A for Monday morning.

 

I'd better bake a new batch of cookies before we lose electricity. Right now, high winds and flooding are predicted for this area.

However, let’s not forget the people who took the brunt of this---especially Haiti--thousands had to be evacuated. Please think about making donations to relief charities for Haiti.

Love,
Michele

Sunday Afternoon:

My darling children came over early this morning and battened down the hatches. I thought all one had to do was simply close those darn shutters. Not quite. You need a PhD in engineering to figure them out. Thanks again my sweet children.

My house is now the host for a number of frogs, chameleons and other creepy crawlers but at least they're safe from the outside elements. My pool has become a pond and there is so much water around the house that if need be, I'll be able to sail away.

Husband and friend are now due to arrive home at 4:00 tomorrow. Poor guys – they’re missing all the fun.

And oh yeah, Stein Mart is having the sale of all sales today without me. They'll probably go out of business in November because I wasn't there today.

The wind is picking up and we're under tornado watch as well.

Damn, have no more choc. chips, so can't bake more cookies. Am hunting for something high in sugar and fat.

Love,

Michele

Monday Morning:

When there’s a hurricane, I always get-in-touch via e-mail with Floridians (some are home alone) with copies to friends elsewhere who may be worried. My idea is to keep our minds occupied and our spirits high.

I don’t drink or do drugs but did share my chocolate/marshmallow/Craisins/Chinese noodles-in-lieu-of-peanuts recipe and gave out my secret of where I got the choc. toffees. You’d be surprised at how easily we surrender our deepest secrets under the threat of tornadoes and hurricanes.

Seriously, I try to make a joke of it and after a while, we're all laughing. I suppose that's the way I face the possibility of annihilation by a falling tree or the roof going airborne.

It’s still raining, pool is overflowing and we continue to be under tornado watch. But so far at least, we've been very fortunate. A lot of us have been through hurricanes before--horrendous. This was merely a tropical storm and I'm hoping it will fizzle out here. Many were not so lucky. Others are in its path. I'm thinking of them as I'm grateful for our escaping the worst wrath of Isaac. They need our thoughts and prayers.

Love,
Michele

Monday Afternoon:

I thought we'd faced the worst of the storm and laughed at its puniness. Well Isaac had the last laugh.

I'm trying to get out of the house to pick up my friend who just had surgery and Isaac’s laugh is reverberating all over the County. The walls are shaking with thunder and the rain is coming down in torrents. I keep checking my roof to see if it’s still holding.

 

On one hand, I know I have to leave, but on the other hand--when I hear the thunder and the power of the rain--it’s scary.

We all thought it would be over this morning and life would go on as usual. But it is lingering as if to have the last word. I’m sure the streets are flooded as my pool is past the overflow mark.

But...will this be my last missive?

Love,
Michele