Jeanne was devastating to our city...worse than Donna, Frances, or Charley

[madfloridian]

We just got power back, most of the grocery stores are still getting power, we have joined the masses searching for ice each day. Over half the schools are without power. Very painful to see the mess. We have our house intact, but in a one block area 3 trees fell on houses....huge trees.

It is hard to think of it too much. We lost our two favorite restaurants, the Outback and Beef O Brady's.

But the worst and the saddest part, our elderly neighbor who lived alone with his two beloved poodles, was found dead this morning by the woman who comes to clean.

He was very nervous yesterday, and the heat was really getting to him. We told him he could stay with us, though we had no air either, but he refused to do it. We said he could bring the dogs, but he wanted to stay home. His huge oak fell on a neighbor's house, he was worried, fearful, and just was not able to withstand 3 hurricanes in 6 weeks.

We talked with him a lot yesterday, hubby went to check on him and the police were there. We have cried a lot over this. He was so alone.

Our Outback destroyed.


Home split in two:


A typical street


Another typical street

[Toucano]

1. I am so sorry for your loss and suffering.

Please keep your chin up and believe you can make it through this. You can and you will.

[merh]

2. How sad, I am crying as I type this, crying for your elderly neighbor

and his poodles and you and yours. Please let me know if you need anything from Mississippi. Being a Southern and being spared the horrors of Ivan, I know what difficulties you have face and are dealing with.

Thank you for loving your neighbor and for offering him you home. Thank you for caring.

My prayers go out to you and yours and to all in Florida.

:grouphug:

[Shopaholic]

4. I went through Hugo

looking at those pictures brings a lot of very, very bad memories back to me. I'm so sorry for the loss of your neighbor. My heart breaks for the elderly in your state (and for everyone else too).

[bbmykel]

3. Hugs to you madfloridian

I am glad you are ok.

[progressivebydesign]

5. I'm so sorry for you... and your neighbor..

.. and all your neighbors. I can't imagine what it would be like to be there. You were so kind to offer help to your neighbor. What arrangements are made to care for the poodles? Does he have family nearby? Or have you taken them in?

Terribly sad. What an awful season, may it end soon.

[SW FL Dem]

6. So sorry to hear that!

The past 6 weeks have been hell on Florida. Hope your town gets the help it needs and the your neighbor's poor poodles find a good home with someone that will love them as much as he did.

[Cha]

7. I'm so sorry and can empathize with what

you're going through. Your pictures look eeirly familiar to what happened on Kauai in 1992 with Hurricane Iniki. It took months before got our electricity back.

Trees in the road, Homes shattered and all our restaurants were Gone!

It's no wonder we went through a Post Iniki Stress Syndrome as I imagine you all are going through, too..only named Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne.:-(

It's so sad about your neighbor..poor thing. :hug:

[SlavesandBulldozers]

8. you are not alone

we are all in this together.

[The Backlash Cometh]

9. I feel terribly sorry for your experience and loss.

We went without electricity for two days and it got progressively bad -- emotionally. Especially when we were finishing up with the clean-up and had nothing but time on our hands. That was the first hurricane. By the fourth hurricane -- I can't even imagine if it had happened again.

Obviously your neighbor had reached his emotional limit. Did he sound concerned about the cost of the damage? Is FEMA doing a bad job of convincing people that they'll come to help?

We never used them because we were fortunate, but I would be very angry if the people who do need them are being denied.

[hadrons]

10. absolutely awful ....

I hope all works out well for you

[Gman]

11. Incredible

absolutely incredible.

Who would have ever imagined, except maybe in some sci-fi disaster flick, that FL would get hit by 4 major hurricanes in one season, much less 6 weeks.

Reality continues to outdo fiction.

[bandy]

12. I hear you Midflo

here is Palm Beach County we got a beating again. Power was off for about 16 hrs and house, roofs, cars are OK. But again, all around us is just massive destruction. Just got cable and phone back this afternoon. Our elderly neighbor had to go to a special needs shelter and they had to evacuate because the roof fell in. Haven't heard from her yet. Went to check on her today but no one answered the door.
During and after Frances we lost 2 friends and another had a heart attack. I have cried myself to sleep thinking of those who have lost their lives, homes, etc. I just pray that Jeanne was the end of the season for us.
So sorry about your neighbor. Another terrible thing to remind us of this horrible summer.
Take care. I will remember you'al in my prayers.

[madfloridian]

16. Sounds like you understand the helpless feeling.

It is almost like you can not cope. We were thankful our home was ok, but it was little satisfaction. Our neighbor just felt overwhelmed by trees, decisions, the heat. We tried, but it was stress. The doctors may put another name to it, but we know what it was...we talked him through too many storms.

[greekspeak]

13. A hug from Tallahassee

:hug:

I am devistated to hear of even more damage. Try to hold up...wish I could better help you cope!

[Shiraz]

15. Thoughts and prayers are with you hon

Take solice in the fact that you were with him and offered him some comfort. Maybe knew the end was near , the elderly like to be close to there things and I'm sure his passing was peaceful. In a much better place now. What about the pouches?

[Zech Marquis]

14. my god...

the picture of that HUGE tree barely over the white car...it brings back those sad days after Isabel hit us just over a year ago.

I hope you're able to get enough ice, food, water and other vital supplies down there...

[G_j]

17. so terrible, its hard to know what to say, bless you all n/t

[Zorra]

18. Wow.

Sometimes things that seem bad somehow turn out good in the long run.

Hope it is this way for you, and wish y'all some kind of (please pardon the expression) major windfall profit out of all this.

[Individualist]

19. Glad you're okay,

but I'm so sorry about your neighbor. Obviously all the stress was just too much for that poor man.

[Digit]

20. Oh Jeez, I am so very sorry....

Are people in florida truly getting any help?
Do you see the NG helping?
Is the Salvation Army helping out?
What about the Red Cross?

I would like to send some money to organizations which are providing assistance.

[flvegan]

21. Buddy of mine's parents

Had a house in the Grand Lagoon (?) subdivision in Pensacola. Water was 4 feet deep on the walls. Total loss. Other houses there are just...gone. Neighbors died. He just got back yesterday from helping them salvage some things. He said that he needed a couple hours with a sledgehammer JUST to clear a path to the front door (debris). I can't even imagine...

[janx]

22. Madfloridian--

:hug:

I still can't get in touch with my brother.

[madfloridian]

24. Oh, no! I am sorry. Many phones are out.

Our son in Orlando lost his landbased phone, and has to use his cell-phone.
Our kids in TX has told us they would try to call, the phone would ring, but we would not hear it.
There are strange things going on. I know you will worry though, janx.

Have you tried some short wave radio sites?
Here is a link to some Florida sites I gave the kids.
http://www.ku4ay.net/clubs.html

[janx]

27. Thanks. I got through to his cell phone and left a message.

He's probably very busy. The land phone doesn't work, and I think that Palm Beach Gardens got hit pretty hard. Have you heard anything about it?

All I saw about Palm Beach Gardens on the news was the usual trailer park devastation--and that only for a minute. The news did say that that general area would probably be without power for two or three weeks.

[madfloridian]

28. Our area is not mentioned nationally either. Only bigger cities are.

I will keep an eye out and let you know. That is over 200 miles from us, so they won't cover it much here.

I never heard much about Palm Beach after Frances, did you? I think a lot of those huge condos were severely damaged.

[ocean girl]

33. I also live in Palm Beach County and I can tell you

that we were hit pretty hard, but the worst damage was in Hutchinson Island, where huge mansions where completely destroyed. I don't think Palm Beach Gardens was hit too badly, but there are huge trees down everywhere and most people don't have electricity. Florida Power & Light are saying that some people won't have power until October 17th!!

The main problem is that it is so goddamn HOT. We're getting more rain every afternoon, so everything is wet, wet, wet. I'm covered with mosquito bites, heat rash and I'm about to kill everyone in my family from being trapped in a hot house together for 4 days.

All we lost was my Dad's 40-year-old grapefruit tree, which made him sad, but he won't admit it. It really upsets me to see all these huge banyan trees destroyed - it hardly looks like Florida anymore. Seems stupid to mourn a tree, but they become part of your life.

If there's anything I can do for people in the area, PM me. I got my power back last night, so I've got ice and cold water and gas in my car. Either that or I'm going to Kerry headquarters to volunteer - I've just got to do something to help somebody!!

Peace.

[madfloridian]

35. The heat is unbearable. Hard to think and plan.

I think we had reached just about our limit today, emptying and refilling the chests with ice,....putting the food back in again...then doing it again the next day. Publix here had NO meat or dairy products in several stores. Pharmacies closed, doctors offices were closed....

When my hubby walked in the door today with tears and told me about neighbor's death....I lost it. I just cried.

Your area has been hit almost as much as we have this summer. And yes, trees do become a part of your life.

[ocean girl]

37. The other bad thing is the dreams

After sleepless nights listening to the howling wind from both Frances and Jeanne and waiting for the roof to fly off, I've had nightmares every night. I guess I was more freaked out than I realized.

There's emotional strain just surviving - living without things you didn't realize were so important: air conditioning, ice, cold water, hot showers, ice cream, traffic lights, gasoline, reading lights, privacy, safety, freedom (curfews), shade trees, mayonnaise.

I just hope we're done for the year.

Peace.

[madfloridian]

41. I thought the dreams were just my problem. Thanks for sharing.

I dreamed of trees a lot, usually early morning. I would wake up worrying if we would find ice the next day. We were lucky we could cook a little on our gas stove, but the stores had no food and our freezer spoiled...so that did not matter.

Yes, mayonnaise. That was a biggie. Sandwiches without it are almost impossible.

If we opened our windows, the noise of the generators kept us awake....and it was impossible to stand it closed up. 4 people in our neighborhood had generators. They are loud!

We are tough people who have been through a lot, but this week we nearly buckled. I think our neighbor just gave up from the stress. That is something I will never forget.

[bandy]

59. For the first time in my long life I feel fragile.

I have no faith in the power and phones staying on. Every little strange noise shakes me up. Dreams haven't been much of a problem as I can hardly sleep. And hubby can't stop looking for things to do. If he's not cleaning up around here he's helping a neighbor. Guess that's his way of coping but he is not a young man. But pretty soon this will all just be a bad memory, Midflo.
Oceangirl and other neighbors - hang in there. Thinking of all of you.

[madfloridian]

60. You are good with words! Fragile and untrusting describes it.

I woke up earlier than usual this morning, hearing the chain saws getting started. I got up and tested the lights, turned on the TV, made sure the cable modem still worked.

After 3 times, we simply take nothing for granted.

I think we were as strong as we could be, but sometimes you reach a limit. I think we were starting to worry about each other. Our kids have been very concerned, but coming here from out of state right now is not wise.

[bandy]

61. Our kids all live close to us

they are all OK and their homes where not damaged. It's mostly getting their work places up and running again.
Checking things like the phone, thermostat, ice maker is a habit I have recently taken up (lol). Hope you are feeling better today! Finally heard from my neighbor and she is OK (bless her heart).

[madfloridian]

65. Our kids are scattered all over.

One in Orlando, a couple in Texas, and one in Iowa. It is hard to have them so far away at times like this.

[bandy]

66. I feel your pain and I can relate to that but

Texas and Iowa were safe from the storms. Orlando is OK I hope. One daughter and our granddaughter (9 yrs) stayed here thru both of them. It kind of gave me comfort knowing Papa and I were guardians looking out for them when actually our daughter was looking out for all of us.

[jdj]

45. I am so sorry about all this.

It does annoy me how they skip over the lesser known cities.

I am sorry to hear about your neighbor, did his dogs perish as well?

[janx]

40. Thanks for letting me know and for the offer.

I'll see if I don't hear from him in the next couple of days. He was especially worried about a couple of very large oak trees by his house.

Maybe they've gotten their power back as well--I hope so.

[KoKo]

70. Mad.....my thoughts and prayers are with you.. Having been through

a few hurricanes myself that weren't as devastating and knowing what my elderly Dad and Brother went through with Hugo in Charleston which was devastating...I send you a big :hug:

It's awful to go through.

[Lorien]

38. Hey Janx

i have an associate in West Palm Beach gardens. He said that nearly everyone has lost power and there's hardly a tree standing in his area. Nobody has phones, either. He's been calling a mutual friend every few days, so if you can't reach your brother soon, let me know. Maybe he could try to check on him.

[janx]

52. Thank you!

I will let you know if I don't hear from him soon.

[GreenPartyVoter]

23. I'm so sorry. :^( *hugs*

-------------------------------------------------------------------
And God told His children: "I love you. Play nice."

Would Jesus love a liberal? You bet!
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/liberalchristians.htm

[JimmyJazz]

25. We are feeling the effects right now in Delaware and PA and NOT

anywhere near what you experienced. I think my parents are going to lose their home of 45 years, so I understand what you are going through. Consider yourself hugged. :pals: This is as close to a hug as I could find!

[madfloridian]

63. I saw that on the the Weather Channel. Unreal.

Just like a huge patch of disaster moving up the east coast. It is so sad.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

26. What town are you talking about?

[madfloridian]

29. Lakeland, over 150 miles from where it came ashore.

We have had 3 hurricane eyes go within 15 miles of us in 6 weeks. I think this one went directly over us.

Donna was NOT this bad.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

39. Orlando seems to be doing OK.

We were lucky that our power didn't go out this time. The power was out at the Publix across the street from us. I haven't seen any really bad damage from any of the hurricanes at my end of town (near Universal).

[lovuian]

30. I don't think people really know how bad it really is

You did everything you could....

[karlrschneider]

31. It's so sad. I lived in Tampa for 16 years and only saw 1 (Elena-minimal)

hurricane. Forget the year ('86?) they ordered evacuations but I didn't leave home...all my neighbors did to shelters. Lost much of the roof but no structural damage. I feel for you guys. My partner's mom lives in Ft. Myers and had a lot of damage from...lord, which one was it?...Frances? Keeping you folks in my thoughts down there.

[madfloridian]

32. Until now, Donna was THE storm. No more.

I went through Donna and saw what happened. It was horrible, but this is worse. There is so much stuff everywhere that people just stand and stare and throw their arms up in despair.

[Justice]

34. So very sorry

[Lorien]

36. I feel your pain

I was without power or phones for 11 days after Charley. I evacuated for Frances to Ohio, and that's where I still am (since Jeanne and Frances also hit my neighborhood). Our streets looked pretty much the same as yours.

My home has power now. If you want to stay there while I'm out of town, PM me. Our grocery stores and restaurants are mostly open.

:hug:

[madfloridian]

42. Hey, thanks. It came on at 3:30.

We have a son in your city, and he says he can not take it anymore either. He lives in a condo near Disney World, did not get damaged, but says it is the going through them that is just unbearable.

I am sitting here feeling like I will never take power for granted again.

That was such nice offer. We thought about a motel, but all of them are filled from Charley and Frances by folks further south. Many are just living in motels here until they can get home.

Our kids have really worried a lot, especially the ones in TX and IA. They feel helpless, but they know they could not help if they came. Besides, we won't let them.

[Eloriel]

43. Madfloridian, I am so sorry to hear about the devastation

and the stress and certainly the death of your poor neighbor.

Your posts and others on this thread are sobering indeed. If there's anything at all I can do, will you please let me know?

In the meantime, I'm sending good thoughts to all of you for strength and peace in this very trying time.

[madfloridian]

71. Yes, Eloriel, it is sobering. Hard to get emotions back to normal, too.

We feel so vulnerable.

[WillyT]

44. I'm So Sorry Mad...

I had no idea.

Are you guys gonna be OK???

:grouphug:

[proud patriot]

46. :-(

:-(

:hug:

:cry:

[yardwork]

47. I'm very sorry. My heart goes out to you and everyone else.

[goclark]

48. My heart is in pain for your suffering

[Tsiyu]

49. So Sorry madfloridian

You were good neighbors to him, too sad that all must go through this. Ivan only cost us an oak back in the woods ( though I haven't inspected all the property). I can't imagine what devastation you have experienced.

You know that trite saying; what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. You Floridians are some tough cookies! Hang in there and glad the power is back on.

[madfloridian]

50. We found out about the two little poodles.

The woman who found him, who had cleaned for him several times a week, just put them in her car and took them. Good for her! She loves those dogs. Her husband had done his yard work, and they are good people who cared for him.

The police asked her what she was doing with those dogs. She told them she was taking them home to care for them. One policemen said it may not be the right way, she stood up to him...told him she was taking them...feel free to stop her. They did not.

I am glad about that, anyway.

[jdj]

51. yes, the family may not want to deal with it, and if the family

turns them over to the shelter, they may be euthanized. I am sure shelters are full now with found animals, and many people who have home damage are forced to give up their pets because they feel they can't deal with anymore right now.

I am so sorry for your loss of your neighbor, and for all the storm damage. My brother in Gulf Breeze lost his living room ceiling, I don't know yet whether they have it replaced yet or not. My best friend in Mobile had some roof damage too. I read tonight that one in five homes in Florida is damaged,

"MIAMI (AP) -- The four hurricanes that hit Florida this season combined to beat the record set by Hurricane Andrew for insured losses in what may be the nation's costliest hurricane season ever, officials said Tuesday.

More than one in every five Florida homes has been damaged. The number of insurance claims this season is expected to hit 2 million, far surpassing the 700,000 claims filed after Andrew 12 years ago.

Insured damage is approaching the $22 billion record, in today's dollars, set in 1992 by Andrew and Hurricane Iniki in Hawaii for the most expensive U.S. hurricane season on record, according to the Insurance Information Institute, and Standard & Poor's Ratings Services."

(I don't have a link, I just e-mailed this to myself earlier out of the Asheville Citizen Times)

[Art_from_Ark]

53. Meanwhile, Typhoon #21 has made landfall in Japan

and is causing major disruptions in the island of Kyushu. It is projected to reach my area in a few hours. It seems that, this year at least, whenever there's a hurricane in the Atlantic, there's a typhoon in the Pacific.

http://typhoon.yahoo.co.jp/weather/jp/typhoon/typha.html

At any rate, please accept my condolences for the losses that you and those around you are having to deal with.

[JCMach1]

54. My parents are still without power... damagewise they came through

Okay...

There is something to be said about having a traditional cracker home in these hurricanes... you can actually still buy tin roofing :)

Also tin is easy to DIY

Shingles are another story entirely....

MY house also survived...

However, we were very lucky!

[madfloridian]

57. Speaking of tin roofs:

Our neighborhood just became designated as historical, and most of the homes are 60 to 75 years old. We have two neighbors with tin roofs. One is a two-story home, and it has a great old-fashioned look.

Actually except for the noise when it rains on them, which one gets used to, they are sort of charming.

Our roof is fairly new and has survived 3 hits of hurricane eyes. I think that is good.

[MsConduct]

55. So sorry for all the troubles down there....

hope you all can recover quickly. You're in my prayers.


Peace

[vinnievin777]

56. Our Prayers our with you.

You take care of yourself.
Vinnie
http://www.vinnievin.com

[AmerDem]

58. Sad to hear that

God Bless all of you.

[ausiedownunderground]

62. I've just been told that Hurricane Karl may be brewing in Atlantic?

I know were a long way away down here in OZ, but we pass on all our safe wishes to all you Yanks who've been through these terrible times. Are these disasters going to affect your polling day?
Sorry to be the bearer of potentially further bad news, but a friend of mine down here who works in the government meteorological office reckons there's another potential one building up "big" in the Atlantic. He's calling it Karl. After seeing the photos above i think thats the last thing Florida needs, although Florida's flora looks really beautiful and exotic. We don't get flora that looks anything like that down here.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

64. I Don't Think Karl Exists Anymore....

And Hurricane Lisa is out to sea...


As of 9-29-04 there are no threats to North America from hurricanes....

[leesa]

67. It's time to offer up a sacrifice to God...Jebbie

I am so sorry for the nightmare these hurricanes have caused

[bandy]

68. What a marvelous idea!

n/t

[DemocratSinceBirth]

69. Jebbie Has Been Decent In His Response...

He gets a pass from me but not my vote...


How about Katherine Harriss?

[Blue Wally]

72. Jeb did good....

Jeb Bush stepped up to the plate as he should as governor and was quite reassuring.

Mayor Alex Pinellas down in Miami-Dade was a rock.

The various city mayors and managers on the hard hit areas of the east coast have been frank and positive.

Mayor Ileane Lieberman in Broward County was a real whiner and tried to demagogue FPL as unresponsive. One of the Palm Beach politicos was also a real whiner about FPL.

FPL has been doing a super job considering the bag of shit they have been handed by the three south Florida hurricanes (Charley, Frnaces, and Jeanne).

[kerry-is-my-prez]

73. Take a lot of cold showers to keep cool if you still have water.

That's the only way I survived when my power and air conditioning went out. Also - just hang out at the pool.

So sorry to hear about your neighbor....

[cally]

74. MF and other Floridians

I'm so sorry for all that you have suffered. I'm thankful your neighbor had your support and friendship during this. I would like to know if there's anything I can do and the best organizations to donate to. :grouphug: