WAITING FOR CHARLEY (and when the news gets personal)

[nostamj]

In NYC, we're waiting for Charley.

It's not the beast that ravaged Southwest Florida yesterday. It's just a big storm. I love big storms. And it's coming. All is quiet now, not a breeze. But, within the hour, if they got it right, we'll have 30mph winds, heavy rains...a BIG storm.

NYC is under a Tropical Storm Watch...

I also love the news. That was true enough before September 11, 2001 but now I have acknowledged and accepted my addiction:

Hi, I'm Jeff. And I'm a news junkie.

And now that (for the time being) I'm working from home, I'm no longer limited to flashing around the web to get updates. I can listen to the radio AND listen to C-Span and even dip into the dreaded corporate news when necessary.

Charley started off as an annoyance frankly. The coverage seemed excessive. Not a story that should be ignored, of course, but not yet worthy of the 24/7 PrincessDiReagasm coverage.

BUT, that was before it intensified and shifted. Then it became personal. Suddenly, it was a much more dangerous storm and I had loved ones in its path.

My parents have lived in Venice, FL for many many years without a single serious hurricane incident. Now I was reading and hearing that their area was under an evacuation zone.

Further, a DU friend (Guy James/BeachBuckeye) was also in an even more dangerous location (Fort Myers).

The 'story' was now very personal for me. And nothing the media could report--short of an on-camera interview with my mother or Guy--would ever satisfy what I needed to know.

I know there are dozens of DUers who were personally invested in the events in Florida from the very beginning. Either because they were there or had family there. I was concerned about the hurricane but not until I knew my parents and Guy were so directly in danger.

My interest in monitoring ANY news certainly ratcheted up. Big time. I half-convinced myself that I had seen my parents in the background of a remote from a shelter. I despaired when I heard reports about Sanibel Island which I knew was close to Guy's home. Every week I'd hear the advertisement about the bookstore on 'beautiful Sanibel Island' and now I knew it was under an assault by 145mph winds. It was specific. Personal.

It turned out that my parents had changed their travel plans and were already in Connecticut when the storms hit. (And, Venice was not seriously hit either.)

Guy's neighborhood was much more seriously affected though we learned this afternoon that he and his wife are safe and damage to his property was minimal.

We also know that was not true for thousands in Punta Gorda and other areas. We cannot hope that the current number of 15 dead will hold for long and the devastation is extensive.

Sometimes a story gets personal.

Charley is due soon. It's still quiet here.

g'nite!

[underseasurveyor]

1. (((HI Jeff)))

;-)
Nicely written nos. Glad your parents are okay and Guy's family too.

[vetwife]

2. Well Jeff I worried about yor parents when I saw that post yesterday

Glad they are OK ! Go get me a NY Hot dog with coleslaw and pick me up a Coke before the storm hits..OK (LOL)Oh yeah I want FRENCH fries don't get me none of that Freedom fry junk !

[nostamj]

3. please, i only get 'pommes frite'

at this amazing little store in the east village. HEAVEN.

they fry them while you wait and have 30+ difference sauces!

the sweet mango chutney is to die for.... and the currey ketsup?... OMG!

10pm and still NO weather... weird....

[nostamj]

4. thank you

thought I was doomed to yet another 'no hit' wonder!

[underseasurveyor]

6. Nope, wasn't gonna let that happen.

I thought what you wrote deserved to be acknowledged :toast:
I saw how upset you were yesterday when Charley was blasting into Florida and you were concerned for your friends and family. Some on DU making jokes at a time when jokes could be set aside even if it's only for a few more hours. I know what it's like to feel helpless and not know how or where our loved ones are.

There are still many people in Florida that need positive energy and good thoughts sent their way. But I'm happy to know that 'yours' are okay.
Take care :-)

[Cha]

5. At one point, Charley was headed for Gainseville and that's

where it would get personal for me. My dad lives there and he was monitoring Charley until late last night and then it veered off as hurricanes do sometimes.

I was in one myself in 1992 on Kauai where it lasted for 8 hours. A cat 5 it was ..devastating the whole Island.
snip~
September 11, 1992, 5:29 a.m.- An island's inhabitants sleep peacefully, their dreams unaffected by the F-3 hurricane predicted to pass harmlessly many miles south of the islands. All is quiet, gentle trade winds blow silently over the island.

5:30 a.m. - Civil Defense sirens around the island spring to life, their shrill cry abruptly ending sleep and replacing pleasant dreams with worries of safety and protection. Residents rush to their television and radios, horrified to find that Hurricane Iniki had quickly gained in strength to an F-5 rating, and abruptly turned directly towards them!

As Iniki slowly retreated to the north and evening approached, residents emerged from their ravaged homes and shelters, only to discover that the world that they had once known was gone. Entire forests had been laid bare by Iniki, the once lush green countryside now a dull brown. The classy resorts and shopping centers now tattered and torn. Their homes and lives changed forever.
more at..
http://www.hawaiian.net/~videohi/iniki.html

I'm glad your folks are fine..and Guy and his family are safe.

Thanks for writing about your "storm" experience.

[vetwife]

7. Wow Jeff..I want some of those fries....either topping will be fine !

Sorry to hear about the Cat 5..I was in the Storm of the Century in Clearwater and that was scary ! Jeff ...Hope your storm gets there pretty soon so I can get my hot dog. (LOL)

[nostamj]

10. wierd... almost 11:30 and still

just a little rain... they keep warning us... but, Tom Ridge must be writing the script!

[nostamj]

9. wow!

cat 5!

I've only experienced hurricanes in CT or NYC. nothing at that level.

[davsand]

8. It is ALL personal. We just forget that sometimes.

It is very easy to sit here in our scattered places and dismiss a lot of the news because it isn't affecting us directly. During 9/11 and its aftermath, i sat and consoled myself that no matter how deeply i felt the anger and fear and sadness, it was not likely to impact me a lot directly since I live in the willy-wacks in Central Illinois. They'd have to FIND us first--ya know?

The Florida hurricane, however WAS much more personal, however, because my parents live part of the year in Ft. Myers in a retirement park--you know the kind--rows of mobile homes and double wides where they take care of the yard work for you...

The only thing that kept them safe from the storm was the fact that my Dad is up here now recovering from open heart surgery he had done at Mayo a week ago. Odd to say, but that surgery may have been a huge blessing for our family in more than one way.

As it was, I have people I know and care abut who DO live there--and I carried them in my heart during this entire mess. A few of them I've still not heard from. I have family that lives on Captiva. I have old and dear friends that live down there, and some of them are STILL not in touch. That makes it quite personal for me.

I think that we all tend to forget that events that impact in our nation negatively impact on us ALL. In part, it is because we are so mobile as a society, but largely unrecognized is the fact that we are all inter-connected. We are ALL Americans, and we have a responsibility to each other.

Somehow, very few of our elected leaders acknowledge this mutual connection and it saddens me. We have guys who look for the political opportunity in any disaster, and we have people who look not at the pain and suffering any disaster brings but rather at the economic toll.

I can't beat myself up terribly for not being MORE upset sometimes, but I sure as heck do feel a pressing need to pay attention to the news these days. I at least owe it to my country to be aware, if not moved by our shared pains and sorrows.

Peace to you and yours, and may we all become more aware of how much we all need each other!


Laura