Oh the memories. 11 years ago a Tropic Storm passed by and we didn't give it too much thought.. 12 hours later we were hit from behind by a category 3 & 4 hurricane that last 3 days. They eye went over us a number of times. We saw the hurricane hunters in the clear eye. Between times we had 150 mph winds from all directions. There were dead birds and lizards everywhere. The trees were stripped. Roofing tile imbedded into coconut trees, the noise was a never ending freight train, the rain was horizontal. After the storm our house was under 5 ft of water, mud and sludge, the roof was no longer water tight and we didn't regain electricity for eight weeks. No power meant no running water, no tv, no computer, no phone charging, no ice. Freshly bought groceries each day. Regaining a sense of normalcy took a while. Most of the island residents suffered PTSD for a year. During those 3 days we wondered how everybody else was faring. At one point the newscaster on the radio considered the possibility that everybody was dead in San Pedro and Caye Caulker. At the end of the day there were some awful stories and the stark reality set in - some of our friends and coworkers had not survived the storm and life has never been the same since. We are older, we are wiser, we are prepared and we are cautious.
Hey, not being catty here, just saying that this is not a time to be frivolous. Look around and see who need a little moral support and friend to lean on. We always want it to work out well and to end up being nothing, but we do all need each other at these time too.