August 10, 2007
I'm Over It
It's coming up three years since THE SEASON of HURRICANES as I think of that fall 2004. Oh, what a horrible few months that was.
Just a reminder, or to fill you in if you don't usually read here....I was living just outside of Orlando Florida at that time. A nice house. On a golf course, backing up to a nature's preserve. Out a bit from the city. Smack dab in the center of the state between Tampa and Daytona.
Charlie blew in south west of me. Hit strong and fierce. Without any real warning on where he would eventually introduce himself. He swept up the center of the state, destruction everywhere. Personally? I lost a friend, and most of my sales territory. AND I spent the night alone in the most fear I've ever experienced (and that's sayin' something with the life I've led). The eye went directly over my home.
That's one.
A few weeks later? Francis. She came in on the other coast. Slow but steady she wrecked havoc. Seeming determined to take out what Charlie had left behind. And she did. At least for me. The rest of my sales territory was destroyed. And again, the eye passed over my house.
That's two.
Now, being located where I was, we also were prone to tornadoes. On a regular basis. The two weather fronts from each coast would "meet" right down the center line. Yeah, I'm pretty sure you could equate my house to the 40 yard line......lovely.
Anyway....than, just a few weeks later Ivan. Now, Ivan missed hitting my area directly. We saw the outer bands, which were no small thing. But in horror we sat helplessly and saw the destruction he caused in the Pensacola area.
That's three. And let me tell you - I didn't know a Floridian that wasn't gun shy at this point.
Then......like that wasn't enough. Jeanne. Following the same damned path of Francis. The bitch.
That was four.
Folks this was all in the span of a couple three months. One after Another after Another.
Financially? I was near ruined. Luckily my house was only minorly damaged (its gone now, hit by a tornado after I left to move here). But I couldn't make a living. I tried. My company tried to help, but no money in is no money in.
And across the state you saw the infamous Blue Roofs - tarps trying to stave off additional damage to homes. Businesses destroyed.
It sucked.
Well, Rachel over at Pereiraville spot lights the latest cover for Time Magazine. It's talking about Katrina and New Orleans. How they haven't recovered, yada yada yada.
And she makes some great points. (sorry I'm a couple days late linking to this!)
That autumn of 2004? In Florida? We pulled OURSELVES up by our bootstraps. We didn't expect anyone to "fix it" while we sat back and gave instructions on "what we deserved". We mourned our loses and then got to work.
Oh, I cannot tell you how pissed off I get every flippin' time someone has the audacity to bring up Katrina and those poor folks in New Orleans.
You know what my Grandpa would say? The Lord helps those who help themselves.
Fix the shit. Quit your belly aching. I got no pity for you any more......
Posted by Tammi at August 10, 2007 08:09 AM | TrackBackAmen sister, AMEN! I can't stand to hear people talk about it and how the "government" should have done more to help "those poor people" or "those poor black people".
Get a shovel. A hurricane is not like a tornado that SURPRISE! it's here. We all had well over a week and half notice that it was coming and opportunities to make plans.
If you chose to do nothing, then you made your choice. Now either dump or get off the pot, because honey, someone else needs the cross and the line is getting long!
Posted by: Lee Ann at August 10, 2007 08:26 AMAmen sister, amen.
I am tired of hearing about how nobody is helping them by rebuilding their houses.
Screw that shit, anywhere else it happens, 2 days to bitch and moan and then there is work to be done and it gets done by those that lost not by the goberment.
Posted by: Quality Weenie at August 10, 2007 08:33 AMThis reminds me of the time we got 14 inches of snow in one night.
Suburbs got out and shoveled their side streets out, we were out there for the entire day shoveling our streets because the county don't do suburb side streets.
The people in Detroit (they have their own plows) bitched and moaned about their streets not getting shoveled and kids couldn't go to school and they want people from the suburbs to come down to Detroit and shovel them out.
And people from the suburbs did, and the people from Detroit sat on their porches and watched (nothing wrong with those people to prevent them from helping) the people from the suburbs shovel their drives and streets.
Lazy asses, that expected others to do for them what they should and could have done.
Posted by: Quality Weenie at August 10, 2007 08:36 AMCan we get another amen?! AMEN! You are so right; we didn't wait for the government to come in and 'fix' anything after Andrew, either... my roof came off and the apartment was unlivable. I could have gone to a tent... they did set some of those up down in Homestead, but thank God I had Arthur to live with...
They didn't support us financially or emotionally. The National Guard tried to keep us safe, but it came down to sitting in our front yards with shotguns.
After a short while they were gone with the water and snacks. Florida can be danged proud of itself!
Posted by: pam at August 10, 2007 11:09 AMI'm so sick of the people from NOLA. You never hear the people of Mississippi complaining. Never.
Posted by: Bou at August 10, 2007 09:40 PM