A series of essays….
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SUNSET AS SEEN FROM THE BEACH ON CAPTIVA ISLAND |
….as seen through my eyes!
By: Jacqueline E Hughes
Once again, you forgot to put the dog on a short leash to take her outside for her morning constitutional. Once again, you paid big time for it. When will you learn? I know, you’ll be asking yourself that same question over and over again and answering it in the very same way the next time she pulls you outside the front door, slamming your left hand against the glass at what seemed like one-hundred miles per hour…
Consequences. Yes, we bear the consequences and must accept the responsibility for our actions as the result of them. Even when we’re forgetful enough to erase the memory of the pain these activities precipitated; the swollen, black and blue left hand, the result of meeting the glass head on, rendering you helpless, forcing you to slink down the front stoop in absolute pain after transferring the handle of the leash to the right hand.
The sound of flesh and bone hitting the glass with such ferocity that you immediately looked around the neighborhood thinking that someone else must have heard it. Someone will surely step out of their door to see what caused such a loud commotion as you double over in unimaginable ‘hurt’ with the dog pulling your right arm straight out and your already purple left hand clutched to your chest before you work up the nerve to splay it out and gingerly check for broken bones. Someone must have, at least, heard your shocked scream with its tearful results as you trailed the dog into the backyard—oblivious to the consequences of her own actions.
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MY NASTY, NASTY BRUISE! |
Underestimating the strength of your puppy creates negative consequences just as underestimating the power and sheer force that pushes a major hurricane along towards the destruction of property and life down its path. Hurricane Ian sits right off the Gulf shoreline with its eye making landfall near our beloved Sanibel Island. Ian is playing ‘ugly’ with sustained winds of 155 MPH and wind gusts reaching 190 MPH equaling a category 4 hurricane. These are numbers too high to even imagine. The imminent destruction to property and lives (if you have not evacuated by now) is the consequence of your non action and will be catastrophic in proportion.
Having lived in Orlando from early 1997 through August of 2018 and personally experiencing quite a few hurricanes in that span of time, let me say that they are certainly no picnic to live through. The 2004 hurricane season hit Orlando like a nonstop freight train barreling down the tracks, spawning tornadoes in their aftermath. Charley relocated a large live oak tree in our neighbor’s backyard by unceremoniously tossing it into ours.
Charley, Ivan, Frances, and Jeanne, names I’ll never forget, took aim at Central Florida in rapid succession and spread their ugliness across the state between August 13 and September 26, 2004. The windowless main bedroom closet, equipped with a battery operated radio, became a retreat and sanctuary. Our Cocker Spaniel, Brûlée, was so used to this space that he would find his way into the closet during normal thunder storms for many months afterwards.
The physical act of covering all windows with plywood and having to live in candlelight and flashlight glow day and night, filling the bathtub with water, packing the car in the garage with our most precious possessions, and backing our truck snuggly against the outside of the garage door in the hopes of preventing the door from blowing inwards— all reflect the preparation of hunkering down before a hurricane passes through. With any luck, all of this hard work will pay off or, at least, the worst of it will pass by you and the sun will come out again the following morning. Did I mention that all of these hurricanes happened long after the sun set and on into the very early hours of the morning? The secrets in the dark haunt us forever.
Ian, a very slow moving disaster, is going to crawl across Florida for the next several days while flooding this low-lying state via initial storm surge and potential rainfall. Charley, Ivan, Frances, and Jeanne moved swiftly by us with minimal flooding. This one will be different. Every morning, following each storm, large parking facilities of lineman from all over the country were waiting outside the main storm areas to do their job by restoring our power. Ian, I’m afraid, is going to keep the lineman busy for quite some time.
My heart aches regarding the potential destruction of my beautiful Sanibel Island and Captiva Island while landfall is making its way even as I type. We purchased a timeshare unit on Sanibel while visiting there on our tenth wedding anniversary years ago and enjoyed wonderful family vacations at Sanibel Cottages until moving permanently to Florida when we, eventually, sold our unit. This area is among the most picturesque in the state and draws people there from all over the world. We were exulted at having been able to purchase a small piece of paradise and create amazing family memories for many years.
Watching the official correspondence out of Washington D.C., President Biden recently spoke to the people in danger of damages and loss due to Ian and verbalized the federal government’s intent to be there for them via FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. My fervent hope is that, politics aside, the governor of Florida and the president will work to evaporate their differences and secure the means required in order to assist the people of Florida after Ian moves on. President Biden warned that raising gas prices by major oil companies after the hurricane will not be tolerated and action may be taken if this happens. How important recovery will be after such a major hurricane sheds its devastating impacts on Florida and beyond.
Lessons are learned after every storm and every storm can be entirely different. I do understand that no matter who you are or where you live, disaster can strike at any time. Natural disasters can place us in survival mode and impact multiple people at once with great speed and precision. Cooperation with one another is the ticket to survival. That’s a major lesson learned while living in Florida all of those years. You learn to appreciate the beauty of the land, as well as respect all of the possibilities that come with it.
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BEAUTIFUL, COLORFUL SANIBEL ISLAND |
Every action has its very own consequences. These past few days have made me even more aware of this as I recall fond memories of Sanibel Island, as well as a painful slam into a glass door leaving a wicked bruise on the back of my left hand. (Bree fails to understand her own strength and how it can affect all of us.) As the eye of Hurricane Ian makes landfall, I shiver to think of its consequences on the people and landscape of Central Florida.
I wish everyone the opportunity to ride this storm out safely and experience a positive outcome when all is said and done. Storms of this magnitude are not to be second guessed or trifled with. Stay safe people of Florida. Live to tell your grandchildren how you survived Hurricane Ian back in September of 2022!
Copyright © 2022 by Jacqueline E Hughes
All rights reserved
