Message #47580

[andream]

Oh Cami,
I'm so glad you are okay and that the damage was not as bad as it could have been.  Just so you know I have family in Tampa, where charley was first expected to hit.  I drove the deskdemon staff insane listening to updates on Weather.com.  (I was part of a Red Cross team who went to Homestead after hurricane Andrew and I take it very seriously).  My Dad is in Tampa, my Kids, are in college in Charleston.  Which of course was where Charley was scheduled to move to after having a few hours over water to intensify.

Dad went to stay with his sister in....Orlando. Thank goodness I thought, at least he was safe.   I sat horrified as I watched charley swing south for landfall and barrel right up into your neck of the woods the Kississmee Orlando area.  Two days went by before I heard he was okay and another set of sleepless nights as I tracked and watched Charley's track up the east coast towards my children.  (the staff here was amazed at how much I knew about weather.  and it's interesting to note that only people who were raised in Florida (as I was) know that the east side of a hurricane is the safer side and that the size and clairty of a hurricanes eye wall are very important things to know).

I can only tell you Cami that I had an overwhelming urge to be there.  People here kept asking ... well what would you DO? I knew that I'd be fortifying the house, double checking the hurricane kit with it's canned food, determing whether or not we needed to evalucate....something ANYTHING rather than staring at the map waiting to see what would happen.

I am glad you are okay and I am glad you found the ability to write to us helpful too.  On the other side of pond this week a beautiful village in Cornwall was lost pretty much to a flash flood.  It seems there is no end to the trauma that nature can bring us at times.  Makes me feel kind of small in the scheme of things ya know?

Former Floridian, hurricane tracker and now Deskdemon's weather expert....

Andrea in London