Early last Monday morning I fell into a
fitful sleep on my couch watching the Weather Channel. I had been talking to
Sights on Yahoo most of the night, and posting here in preparation for Hurricane Wilma. I nodded off around 2:30 am
with hard cold rain, and gusty winds.
At about 6:45 am I was awakened by the phone ringing. The phone service disconnected before I could answer. The first sensation at that point was the sound. 120mph winds sound nothing like a freight train, but no other description applies. The vertical blinds on our door wall were dancing and bouncing around, and I could feel gusts of wind on my feet. I looked outside but could see nothing because of the dark. My work Nextell was still working so I called my boss and had him call my wife and tell her I was OK, and to stay at work. By now it was 7:15 or so and a weak dawn was coming. I looked out the sliders again and saw a 12 foot or so section of palm tree trunk go torpedoing past at waist height. It hit 2 other trees farther down, taking them out.
At this point I noticed that the glass on the sliders was moving in and out about an inch. Fear set in, and rather deep at that. I spent 7 months in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq in Gulf War I. I have, as they say, "seen the elephant", but I have never in my life been more scared than I was Monday morning. I locked up, standing there at the sliding glass doors looking out into hell. My dog was next to me barking his head off, but I couldn't really hear it over the nothing like a freight train noise. What broke the spell was a tree falling on my neighbor's Volvo.
At this point I did the only sensible thing: Downed half a bottle of NyQuil and went to bed.
When I next awoke it was around 10:30. The sun was shining and the wind gusting. It was a pleasant 70 degrees. I harnessed the dog, and we went walking around the complex to survey the damage. About 85% of the trees were down. The 2 lakes on property were semi-flooded. A motorcycle had been blown through the back window of an SUV. Roof tiles were broken on the ground. The radio was playing a litinay of the destruction. The eye had made landfall 22 miles from us, between Everglades City and Marco Island. Roads were flooded and undermined.
I was able to borrow a neighbors cell phone and call my wife at work, and let her know it was safe to come home. We had no water, no power and no phone. My wife got home around noon. She went to bed after we talked for a bit, and I napped on the couch. After a bit I called my boss on my Nextel, and was told I had to be at work Tuesday. I borrowed a neighbor's cell and called my mom and let her know I was OK. It got dark. I read for a bit, switched off the flashlight and cried myself to sleep.
I woke up, took a cold bucket bath and went to work. Power was out, so we just shared stories. The phones at work were still on, so we were able to contact some of our customers. We left at 5 because of the curfew. The water was back on, but there was a boil order in effect. The fridge reminded me that I should have cooked that Salmon fillet. Wednesday: Another Bucket bath, more standing around at work. I got ahold of friends to let them know I was OK. Power came back on around 4am at home. Power came back on at work Thursday. The weekend was a fair imitation of normal. And today, one week later it all seems a vivid nightmare. Except for the dreams...
At about 6:45 am I was awakened by the phone ringing. The phone service disconnected before I could answer. The first sensation at that point was the sound. 120mph winds sound nothing like a freight train, but no other description applies. The vertical blinds on our door wall were dancing and bouncing around, and I could feel gusts of wind on my feet. I looked outside but could see nothing because of the dark. My work Nextell was still working so I called my boss and had him call my wife and tell her I was OK, and to stay at work. By now it was 7:15 or so and a weak dawn was coming. I looked out the sliders again and saw a 12 foot or so section of palm tree trunk go torpedoing past at waist height. It hit 2 other trees farther down, taking them out.
At this point I noticed that the glass on the sliders was moving in and out about an inch. Fear set in, and rather deep at that. I spent 7 months in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq in Gulf War I. I have, as they say, "seen the elephant", but I have never in my life been more scared than I was Monday morning. I locked up, standing there at the sliding glass doors looking out into hell. My dog was next to me barking his head off, but I couldn't really hear it over the nothing like a freight train noise. What broke the spell was a tree falling on my neighbor's Volvo.
At this point I did the only sensible thing: Downed half a bottle of NyQuil and went to bed.
When I next awoke it was around 10:30. The sun was shining and the wind gusting. It was a pleasant 70 degrees. I harnessed the dog, and we went walking around the complex to survey the damage. About 85% of the trees were down. The 2 lakes on property were semi-flooded. A motorcycle had been blown through the back window of an SUV. Roof tiles were broken on the ground. The radio was playing a litinay of the destruction. The eye had made landfall 22 miles from us, between Everglades City and Marco Island. Roads were flooded and undermined.
I was able to borrow a neighbors cell phone and call my wife at work, and let her know it was safe to come home. We had no water, no power and no phone. My wife got home around noon. She went to bed after we talked for a bit, and I napped on the couch. After a bit I called my boss on my Nextel, and was told I had to be at work Tuesday. I borrowed a neighbor's cell and called my mom and let her know I was OK. It got dark. I read for a bit, switched off the flashlight and cried myself to sleep.
I woke up, took a cold bucket bath and went to work. Power was out, so we just shared stories. The phones at work were still on, so we were able to contact some of our customers. We left at 5 because of the curfew. The water was back on, but there was a boil order in effect. The fridge reminded me that I should have cooked that Salmon fillet. Wednesday: Another Bucket bath, more standing around at work. I got ahold of friends to let them know I was OK. Power came back on around 4am at home. Power came back on at work Thursday. The weekend was a fair imitation of normal. And today, one week later it all seems a vivid nightmare. Except for the dreams...
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