Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Wilma...

Rick - I cannot help but think of the dread that would come with a negative, destructive force like this looming over you - you know it is coming, and can do nothing to stop it.

Come to think of it, actually I can. My wife's family comes every Thanksgiving.

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Come to think of it, actually I can. My wife's family comes every Thanksgiving.

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You too, huh?

Actually this one really isn't that bad Craig. Being on the east coast and having the hurricane coming from the west coast, along with the fact that it is a fast moving hurricane was a huge factor in our decision to stay here. Had this been a strong cat 3 or 4 hitting on the east coast we probably would have considered evacuating.

About all that you can do is to be prepared and hunker down until it passes, probably not that much different from a really bad snow storm that you folks get from time to time up there...I would guess.

It just absolutely amazes me to no end the power that mother nature can produce. Being here in the house and just hearing the roar of the wind through the trees and the sound of the ocean pounding the beach is very incredible. I'd love to be able to see the ocean at this moment...a site that must be quite amazing.

The dreaded part comes with the final loss of power! I'm baffled why we still have it at the moment...knocking on wood!

We usually get one or two big storms per year. Rarely does the power go out, and our snowstorms are a time for a stocked bar, good movies, heck, sometimes I even cook on the grill (which I put just inside a garage door) and we have a picnic.

It is usually the 3 or 4 days AFTER the storm which are the most annoying.

Talked to my brother in Ft. Myers shortly after 9 AM. All was well there. They lost power around 7 AM, but they have a small, black and white, battery powered TV, so they are able to keep up on what's going on. They also have a generator, so if the power outage is extensive, they can run the refrigerator to keep their food fresh, and run a couple of portable AC units, to keep themselves fresh. They were without power for about a week after last year's Charley, and really suffered in the heat. The generator was the first purchase after Charley.

He had talked to his kids and grandkids in Naples, and Cape Coral, and all was well there as well.

Just before I called him, he said he had cranked up one storm shutter just enough to provide a 3/16 of an inch peep hole. He said the overflow drain on the pool was working fine, preventing the pool from flooding the house, and he could see no damage, other than the usual small pieces of tree debris.

He also said Wilma is lingering longer, and is considerably noisier, than Charley. Much more roaring and rattling, and thus a bit more scary.

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It is usually the 3 or 4 days AFTER the storm which are the most annoying.

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It's always during the storm that is the most annoying for us, the power is very unreliable and will go out so we try not leave anything but the necessities plugged in and it's way to nasty to try to open the garage so therefore we're stuck in the house and about the only thing to do is hang out here. Wife and I have stepped out on the back screen room a couple of times just to watch the action, it's very hypnotic.

Last year during Jeanne the barrier islands where we live were closed for 4 days after the storm and if we left we couldn't get back on so therefore we were 'stranded' if you will. There were only a handful of folks in our neighborhood who stayed and we sure had a couple of fun days. Lots of cleaning up, BBQing and drinks...was fun to have the roam of the island for a couple of days! I don't believe very many left for this one.

Jack I am very glad to hear your brother and his family are fine! I was very concerned for the folks over there because they took more of the 'brunt' of the storm. We have friends in Naples and Ft. Myers but haven't heard from them as of yet, hopefully everything is fine with them as well.

Fingers crossed for you up here! We lose power all the time up here since we're on the Canadian shield and can't bury power lines. I can almost hook the generator up by myself - I can plug it in and make it start - but I can't throw the main breaker on the house! How wimpy am I? So I sit in the cold and the dark with my little laptop until the batteries run out, and hope for the power to come on or Ian to come home.

<bump> - you okay down there, BrotherBob?

Yeah, today while on lunch I watched news footage of the aftermath. Hope everything's okay. I've lived in Southern Cal my entire life and am okay with the earthquakes, but I don't think I can take hurricanes and tornadoes. Too much for me.

I heard there was like 6 million people without power down there, I'm guessing his computer is not working...

Breaker 19 Breaker 19 BrotherBob do you copy, this is the Rubber Duck...