A Little South of Nowhere: 09/12/2004

Charley: Aftermath Part Next

This is one of those stories of those stories of strange miraculous things that happen during disasters. I had written earlier about staying with friends as Charley passed and how their shed had blow apart. In that shed was containers with decorations of all types. much of it was missing after the storm. One container it turns out later was found. A man found a box at his home in Peace river shores and showed the box to a friend. This woman looked at the handwriting on the box and recognised it as that of our friend (they had known each other since grade school) Look at the pics below to see the distance (though not necessarily the route) the box traveled as well as the type of box. The box was found intact and with the lid still on though I cannot speak for the condition of the contents.

5.88 miles according to Mapquest

Posted by Hello

A rubbermaid tote.

Posted by Hello

Stupid Horror Movie Tricks

I recently saw "The Ring" and I liked most of the film except for two things. Two stupid horror movie tricks. The first goes like this whenever the monster/maniacal killer/whatever appears to be dead or defeated it must come back and kill one more person. I hate this one. Just let it die.

The other one was the one I call the 'un-ending' . In this case right at the very end the reveals that it really isn't the end. In "The Ring" this is where the main character is having her son make a copy of the video and he says "what will happen to the person I show it to?" This is such a CHEAP plot device.
If there are any future writers, playrights or filmmakers out there do us all (including yourselves a favor and don't use these cliches.

Drivers Wanted

A note to all drivers including myself ( I promise to read this later and pretend to be surprised). I'd like to pass on a few tips to make everyone's driving experience a little better.

Drive Like You Have Somewhere To Go - even if you don't, likely the person behind you does. I am not saying drive like a maniac (as you'll see in a moment) just don't putt-putt down a main thoroughfare at 20 MPH while looking at all the pretty flowers.
Get Directions Before You Leave - This would seem like a no brainer but a lot of folks apparently don't do it.
Take It Easy - if you're running late that is YOUR fault and YOUR problem don't make it everyone else's. Life is the journey not the destination. BTW- If you are one of those folks who comes zooming up behind me on the interstate doing 90 when I am doing 70 and flashes your high beams, KNOCK IT OFF, I am doing the speed limit, you are not supposed to be going faster than me in the first place. If I am in your way while you are breaking the law DEAL WITH IT.
Change Lanes More Than 20 Feet Before You Need To Turn - Another no brainer but one that a bunch of people don't do. There is never an excuse for making a right turn from anywhere other than the right lane ( or a left turn from the left).
Chill - Mellow out, calm down, relax, etc. (just not so much that you fall asleep.)

I know this won't be popular with a lot of folks but so what. I am guilty of all these from time to time as well. I promise to do better. I hope you do too.

Charley's Angels

I have talked several times about the damage and devastation caused by Hurricane Charley i would like to take an opportunity to thank some of the people who came to help us recover. Some are volunteers, some are not. First I must thank the 'Convoy Of Hope' For providing food and other necessities. These folks ran a comfort station just south of downtown Punta Gorda, distributing water, Ice, Food, Clothing and other supplies. No questions asked. Walk up get some stuff and go on your way. I can't emphasize how HUGE the no questions asked part of that is. After dealing with FEMA, The SBA and Disaster Unemployment it was nice not to have to fill out more forms and answer more questions. The Salvation Army also was out there providing meals. The national guard, law enforcement, and fire-rescue teams from all over. In the weeks after the hurricane there was little power and few traffic lights the visiting police helped direct traffic and protect us. This was incredibly needed. One of the true tragedies was hearing that some folks who disregarded the curfew ran an intersection and were hit by a semi at 11:30 PM. Three people were killed. There would have been a lot more of this if not for visiting law enforcement. There so many people from so many places, it was truly heart warming to see the outpouring of assistance to our small Florida county. Thanks to one and all. I hope I can return the favor one day.

Charley: Aftermath 2

As mentoned in the previous post we had gone into town to locate assistance. Along the way we were moved to tears on several occaisions at the sights around us. It was unbelievable. The amount of destruction was mind boggling. In a town called Cleveland there is a mobile home park on each side of US 17. That area looked like something large and powerful had been detonated there. While some homes were still standing most had just, come apart, during the storm. Debris was every where anything vertical had aluminum wrapped around it. We even saw a mattress hanging on a power line. I also said in my last post that I didn't like the fact that the mobile home parks got so much of the coverage. This is because I believe that this gives some people the false impression that concrete block building are safe. While block is safer it is by no means invulnerable. The other two pictures today are of the Harbor Inn and the Supertest gas station, both concrete block structures both destroyed.