This west coast Floridian is alive and well in Dothan, Alabama, and far from Milton. [View all]

Last edited Wed Oct 9, 2024, 03:38 PM - Edit history (1)

Saturday I told my friend and neighbor that I’d personally experienced 5 hurricanes in my life, and then two tropical storms just this year, and that during the hurricane 2 years ago I'd traveled 5-6 hrs up to Dothan, AL, and stayed 4 days, I told her I knew ‘the signs,’ and had decided to leave by Monday or Tuesday. So she immediately made our reservations.

On Sunday we packed the car as if our mobile homes would be destroyed, and we headed north on I-75 at 3:30 am Monday, arrived in Dothan by 9 am. We’re staying on the 1st floor, each of us with our own ‘executive suite,’ at the Hampton Inn until Friday. We've met hurricane refugees from St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Naples and other towns inland.

Lots of loving friends have called me and offered their place to stay — an old New Orleans friend; an old Orlando friend; my 50-year Northwestern classmate & friend up in Minneapolis; my daughter in Chicago; and my friend over in New Mexico, even. I’ve updated them on my situation, and profusely thanked them for their kind offers. It's a blessing that so many care for me at a time like this.

I’m hoping the best for millions. I just hope the house is still there when we return on Friday.
At worst I'll be homeless and my two sons who own the house will have to handle the fallout; I'll never return to Florida; and though I have options I'll probably never again live as cheaply with the same quality of life.
Then again, so what.
At best I'll only have to a) wait for power to be restored, and/or b) make affordable repairs.
In the end, it’s all good.

This hurricane might feel a bit abstract to anyone who's never experienced this kind of magnitude of nature's destruction -- it's understandable -- but I know that around me, the mass death and suffering will continue to be very real, near future and beyond.

I'm glad this Biden/Harris administration acts to alleviate suffering no matter where. I'm proud to say that about our party. As Joe said to the United Nations, some things are more important than keeping power.

Thanks for reading.