My thoughts and prayers this morning continue to focus on family and friends in Florida. Hurricane Ian is categorized as a category 4 hurricane, with maximum wind speeds of 150 mph. Reportedly, the hurricane is twice as wide as the state of Florida. The General’s sister and brother-in-law chose not to evacuate. Perhaps their logic is sound? They built their home to withstand a category 5 hurricane.
Just because they can doesn’t necessarily mean they should. Did I really write that? It sounds like something my sister-in-law would say to me.
On the other hand, their logic seems sound. The traffic jam of folks fleeing Florida could become a person’s worse nightmare.
The General’s sister and brother-in-law have a generator in their home. Consequently, they will not be without electricity. In addition, most shelters reportedly do not take pets. As responsible pet owners, they would never leave their cat unattended.
In posting thoughts associated to the storm, my sister-in-law wrote: “We our grateful the storm changed directions; however, there are now people who first believed they were safe but are now in the direct path. I often have the thought that if I pray for the storm nor to hit us am I praying for it to hit someone else?”
The General and I were in Florida five years ago. We flew into Florida for a national conference the same week the Governor of Florida was encouraging people to leave the state. Fortunately we managed to fly out of Florida a day and a half before Hurricane Irma made landfall.
Two days before Irma arrived, finding gasoline or groceries in Florida was a tough assignment. There is nothing like a pending storm to be a catalyst for empting shelves at the grocery store.
My biggest surprise five years ago was arriving at the airport and finding a large number of people traveling with their dogs. Out of curiosity, I went back and pulled a few pictures from my phone to substantiate my memory is accurate.
All My Best!
Don
Carpe Diem 