MOVING ON.....2024

A Note From The Author: Jacqueline E. Hughes

I am so happy to welcome in the new year, 2024!!! My Blog is changing-up a bit....mainly because I am evolving. Travel will always take precedence in my life and, my journeys will be shared with you. This 2024 version will offer a variety of new stories and personal ideas, as well. This is all about having fun and enjoying this Beautiful Journey called......Life!!!

Thursday, September 7, 2017

MENTALLY PROCESSING IRMA: AN EMOTIONAL NIGHTMARE



A series of essays.....


BLESSED WITH EARLY MORNING SUNSHINE AND
SERENADED BY THE CALL OF BIRDS AND SQUIRRELS

.....as seen through my eyes!





By: Jacqueline E. Hughes

I am not saying that most Americans don't have much on their plates right now; far, far from it. However, when the certainty of a one hundred and eighty-five mile an hour wind and rainstorm lies on your doorstep, mental status could be rife for a modicum of pure panic, if not a full-blown anxiety attack of major proportions. 

The uncertainty of the path that Irma will take as she manhandles her way across Florida will determine my state of mind as time progresses. Best scenario is if she stays well off to the east of the state. Then there's always the chance that Irma will show her disdain for our beautiful west coast and cut Tampa off at the knees. However, for those of us living in the central areas, as well as both coastlines, the worse case scenario would be having Irma set her eye (sights) right up the middle of Florida as she rides the wave of a category four storm. Each journey is completely different. Each one brings its own set of rules and outcomes.

I have to remember that Irma is currently gnawing her way through the Caribbean as a catastrophic number five storm and has nearly annihilated each land mass she has set her eye upon with the loss of life already in her wake. And, she's still hungry for more! Chewing up, stomping, and blowing away everything in her path, Irma is on a rampage of mass destruction.

Yet, we are staying put and riding this 'thing' out as we hunker down here in Orlando.

I've had a friend from up north in Michigan ask me why. If the tables were turned, he would have left the area long before now. In my case, it boils down to respecting the obligations one has made to others. My husband has been working on hurricane proofing (if that's even possible) two large apartment complexes being built in the Orlando area. As project manager, he is responsible for the well being of everyone involved at each project and lives may depend on whether or not all is done properly and with safety always in mind.

Even though my blood pressure rises a bit with each passing moment of uncertainty, I respect the fact that with responsibility comes commitment, strength, and leadership.

All of this seems so impossible to believe as I sit here looking out at a stunning morning bathed in sunlight and being gleefully serenaded by the call of birds and the friendly chatter of playful squirrels while sipping my morning coffee. Is this the so called 'calm before the storm?' 

Charley: 150 mph. Frances: 105 mph. Ivan: 130 mph. Jeanne: 120 mph. It came to be known as the 'Year of Four Hurricanes' when, for six weeks in 2004, Florida reeled under their monstrous assault. I was a hurricane 'newbie' at this point. My utter respect for these horrific storms grew to enormous proportions that year and I can never forget the emotional ramifications presented  personally to me by each one.

Irma is different so far. She is in a category all by herself, at least in terms of fear and emotional torment released upon the reasonable human beings she has teased so incrementally throughout the duration of this past week. She is powerful. She is hungry. She is unpredictable. Ultimately, she is relentless and, it is because of this, coupled with the very recent memory of the victims of Harvey striking the Texas coastline, Irma is the ultimate 'Emotional Nightmare.' 

Most importantly, these storms will always command our utmost respect. 

Tonight we begin major preparations for hunkering down with Irma knocking at our doorstep on Saturday. Important papers and small items will be placed in plastic tubs with lids securely fastened afterward. All patio furniture, potted plants, and anything standing alone in the back and front of the house will be compacted into the back of the lanai. Framed paintings, and personal photos and photo albums, will be removed from walls and shelves and placed in our vehicles in the garage while pressing their back bumpers against the closed garage door for added security from the high winds. 

Ziploc bags filled with ice to be placed in refrigerator freezer with containers of filtered water filling up the refrigerator itself. These can be placed in a cooler and brought into our 'safe spot' in the house when needed along with flashlights and prayers. Our master bedroom closet has served us well in the past.

By late Friday, we must make the decision to board up the windows of our home. Heavy slabs of plywood used during the onslaught of 2004 are already pre-cut and ready to go. When that is accomplished, we will be living in a dark, threatening world and praying that the electricity stays on for as long as possible while hoping that all of this preparedness serves us well.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. This is the next phase of this ominous game taking place between man and Mother Nature. This is the phase that introduces pure panic and anxiety attacks. Having already served its purpose of thinking and doing, the mind is now left open to wander creating infinite possibilities of what the near future may hold.

Born and raised in northern Indiana, I have ingrained respect for the sheer force of a tornado with powerful winds being its fierce component. What mainly disturbed me after each onslaught of the 'Year of Four Hurricanes' was the possibility of each spawning tornadoes. And, they did, with one claiming a large swath of land and homes only two blocks from our own neighborhood. 

So, tonight we plan, pack, and pray....not, necessarily, in that order. We'll get through this. We have to. May God blow Irma's sails to the mighty East and out to the open sea. May all life be spared. I will be talking with all of you on the other side of this storm because Dan and I are looking forward to celebrating our forty-fourth wedding anniversary a week from this Friday!

Right now it's time to say, "No way, José! You will not be knocking on my back doorstep anytime soon. Siga adelante. There will be no 'Hola' extended to you. Our plate is full!"


Copyright © 2017 by Jacqueline E. Hughes
All rights reserved



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