Something Good Out of Charley
While idly watching the
local conditions on the Weather Channel, it dawned on me they were
playing "Cast Your Fate to the Winds" as background music.
We were in Georgia, waiting for the updates on Hurricane Ivan at the
time, so the irony of the music was more than just a little pointed.
My
friends in Miami sent me e-mail animations of the Hurricane Ivan
track showing the hurricane cutting Florida completely off, leaving
the seashore at the Georgia state line. And, of course, there's the
current Internet favorite, postcards from Florida showing nothing but
a huge photo of a hurricane cloud with a small arrow pointing to the
middle saying, "We are here!"
Hurricane
Charley's direct hit on Charlotte County put the fear of hurricanes
into our local population more than any lecture, film or television
show could possibly do. After Charley and the slow, agonizing week of
watching Frances toy with us before passing close enough to flood our
streets and byways, all it took was the 5 am. Friday NOAA Hurricane
Ivan prediction chart showing another direct hit on Port Charlotte to
be the catalyst for action as many of our residents said, "Enough!
We are out of here!" We were among those that split for the
hills of Georgia
To say we needed a
breather is an understatement. We needed a chance to reflect on
Florida and our lifestyle. That is when we began to get our sense of
humor back. We stayed with our daughter and her
husband in the rolling hills just south of Athens, Ga. Our daughter
is a Georgia transplant thanks to Hurricane Andrew in Miami in 1992.
She lost everything when her condo in Cutler Ridge blew apart like so
many matchsticks. She did not return to Florida, finishing her
college in Atlanta and joining the work force there.
Many
in Port Charlotte may relocate elsewhere, but there will be those who
stay. New people will move here. Some businesses closed permanently
on August 13, 2004. Others will find a way, with good planning and
insurance, even government help, to rebuild and reopen. They will not
be the same as before. Now, during the rebuild, is the time to
correct mistakes.
People
are looking for something good to come out of Charley, although that
is hard to say to someone who lost everything, perhaps even a loved
one. Those who have been through these storms in the past know our
community will be back It will be back better and stronger than
before. No matter how badly someone was damaged, they say,
"Oh, we got hit, but others had it worse than us ... "
Port
Charlotte and Punta Gorda will finally be less of a group of
relocated, and sometimes dislocated, northerners, banding together
because they had no common experience in their new home. No matter
how you did it up north, you didn't do it like Charley. The people
of Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda are starting to sound like
Floridians.
George
Mindling
©
2004
