It was eight years ago today that
Hurricane Andrew slammed into
Miami. I had just gone off to
college at
UF and watched helplessly as my
hometown was reduced to
rubble. I saw a good friend's face as he saw
photographs of an object floating in the
swimming pool, and then as he identified it as his old
bed from the second-floor
bedroom.
Debby, the fourth named tropical cyclone of 2000, appears to have Florida in her sights. It looks as if Miami may be spared in favor of the Gulf coast. I live in the Tampa area.
When it comes to hurricanes, the best defense is to be somewhere else. I don't know why everyone else prefers to wait until the Ronald Reagan Turnpike is packed with refugees and then consider joining them. If I didn't have obligations at work, I'd drive out tomorrow morning. As it is, I hope to get to Orlando by nightfall and hunker down far from the coast.
For those of you who pray, or meditate, or burn incense, or send out vibes, or any of the above, I'd appreciate your good wishes right about now.
UPDATE: It looks as if the UKMETS and NOGAPS models were right, because Debby is currently using up a lot of energy on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This means Tampa is safe for a few more days at least. Whew!