Tropical Storm

Ocala, Florida

Weather: low 76 degrees, high 95 degrees, mostly clear skies early, then mostly cloudy skies in the afternoon and evening

A tropical storm is making it's way across the state. It crossed the coastline heading west below Miami, so there's little chance that it will affect the weather in Ocala, other than the clouds and a little wind that we're seeing this evening. Not that it bothers us, because if the weather looks like it's going to get bad, we can hook up the RV to the truck and head in the opposite direction.

When we lived in Florida back before 1980, we experienced what hurricanes can do first hand. My earliest recollection of a hurricane is of a storm that hit Florida when I was about six years old and we lived near New Smyrna Beach. The reason I remember that storm is that we were flooded out of the house and had to leave. Now that will make an imprint on a young kid's memory.

Another storm that stands out was one that occurred about 1972. We were living beside a lake in the Ocala National Forest, and when we went to bed one night, a storm was making it's way up the west coast of Florida, with all forecasts saying that it would hit land near Pensacola. Think about how far Pensacola is from Ocala (about 300 miles). So, it was a real surprise to be awakened in the middle of the night when the television antenna (remember what those were?) was blown down on to the roof. The storm had made a 90 degree turn near Crystal River and came across the state on it's way to the Atlantic Ocean and up the east coast. We were directly in the path of the eye of the storm, and went through about a 30 minute period of calm air with no rain when the eye passed over us. Then, we really caught it. Higher winds and more rain than ever. Finally, the weather started easing about daylight.

When I went out to check on the damage we suffered, I found that the only damage we had was the television antenna being blown down. However, several homes near us had trees blown down on them, the power lines were blown down, and the roads were blocked by trees being blown down across them.

Of all the hurricanes we experienced when we lived here, the one I wrote about above was the only one that caused us any damage. And guess what? People picked up and repaired the damage without any help from the government or any other agency. Friends and neighbors helped those that needed it, and no one sat waiting for big brother to make everything right for them. What a novel concept!

What ever happened to that independence that Americans used to be so well known for?

It was amazing how well the fish were biting when the storm passed over. I went fishing a day after the storm, and every cast caught a fish. I even had one fish jump into the boat. And that's not a fish story.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Fortuna, California: The Friendly City

Not all who wander are lost.