What a fun couple of days this has been! Have I told you lately? FLORIDA SUCKS!

The storm came in much stronger than we had anticipated and I am very glad I left my mobile home. Having the storm come through during the middle of the day made it more interesting to actually be able to watch but no less scary.

We had power at my friend Jason’s house until just about the time the eye of the storm came through the county. Luckily, I had my trusty battery operated TV to watch the progress. Squinting at the small black and white screen we were still able to make out the county lines and anticipate the winds and duration of the storm.

The back of the house was sheltered from most of the winds, so Jason removed one section of the hurricane shutters so we could watch the storm. Seeing the “storm surge” in his pool was slightly humorous as the water continuously spilled from the Jacuzzi into the rest of the pool and then constantly overflowing to the surrounding deck area.

The first half of the storm wasn’t all that bad, it wasn’t until the winds changed direction that all hell seemed to break loose. First the winds were coming from the east; bending trees and blowing debris between Jason’s house and the neighbor’s across the canal. Then, as if someone had flipped a switch turning on a much larger fan on the other side of the house, the winds plowed back in the opposite direction with immense strength. The trees, the canal and the neighbor’s house were obstructed in a sheet of wind, rain and debris which all screamed by in a gray/white blur.

Finally, by 3PM we were able to venture outside and survey the damage. The usual tree and light pole debris was scattered but there was no apparent damage to Jason’s house. We all piled in the van and went to check out my house. The anxiety built the closer we got to my neighborhood. One of my favorite restaurants in “downtown” Jensen Beach had its roof peeled back and the lack of traffic lights anywhere only served to heighten the tension as we got closer.

There it stood. Fleetwood deserves all the kudos for making such a strong building. The skirt was torn from around the bottom of the home, which makes me glad I wasn’t there for the storm. I’d been in the trailer during bad thunderstorms and felt the floor shake; I can only imagine the “E Ticket” ride Wilma must have been.

The door handle was snapped in two; from what the landlord told me, the result of a tree limb slamming into the door. Yes, I am glad I wasn’t there. There is also a 6-inch gash in the back door, also from some flying debris. Inside was still bone dry. There are a number of leaks from last year’s storms that I deal with whenever it rains, but they all seemed to have made it through without getting worse. I had expected to some home to a swamp, at the very least. While I had been hoping for some damage, it was a big relief to find everything intact.

I spent that night again at Jason’s. Work was very cryptic with its plans for work on Tuesday. We showed up to a building still in darkness. After a few hours of standing around doing nothing we were allowed to go home. A handful of us went out to one of the few restaurants open in the area for a nice hot lunch.

The “young lady” almost joined us but had repair and cleanup to do at home. I was able to have a few moments of catch up and idle chatter with her; we still seem to have that door open; although I will wait until normalcy returns next week sometime to ask again to set a time and place for “The Date”.

Right behind Wilma was a cold front, which has brought record low temperatures. This has been a welcome relief over the sweltering heat after last years’ storms. You can still walk around and work around the house without sweating to death. Hell, last year there were times you could be sitting still immobile and you still were sweating buckets. While most Floridians are walking around swathed in layers and layers, my still un-aclimatized body is enjoying the 50-67 degree weather.

Half of my trailer park has power while my side of the street remains dark. A neighbor has allowed me to run an extension cord so I can have TV and a light at night. A person must have their priorities!

Frustration is the word of the day around here. Prior to the storm Governor Bush was all over the media saying how there were loads and loads of water, ice and food stockpiled and waiting on trucks just chomping at the bit to be distributed. Then it took almost two days for the trucks to show up. Some only had water or ice. Where were the hundreds of thousands of MRE’s? One reason given was that there trucks, staged 5 hours away in Jacksonville, had stops to make along the way and then that refueling to make the remainder of the trip was a problem. While the snafu’s here pale in comparison to New Orleans, it seems that the state was not completely ready.

I will be posting photos when I have power back at home and can upload them to the blog. Also, posts will be sporadic as I am doing these when and where electricity and access is available.