Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

The End of the World

OK, I?ll admit, not an original title, but it?s darn appropriate.   Two 
hurricanes in three weeks will put your nerves on edge, make you a little 
jumpy, and, in my case, wondering what it will take to get my family and I 
the heck out of this state, never to return again.  Twenty one years I?ve 
lived here and, as of last Saturday night, I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!!!

I?ll try and tell you what?s been going on down here, Labor Day Week-end 
(yipppeeee), 2004, in Ormond Beach, ten miles or so north of Daytona Beach, 
Florida.  In case you?ve been hunting wild game in Africa or don?t own a 
television you may have missed hearing about this incredible event in our 
nation?s Deep South (and, if any of you tell me Florida is not part of the 
South, you and me are gonna get into it).  If you don?t mind, I?d like to 
take you there, to my place, explained using my own delusional, whacko style 
of story telling, and you, please, tell me if I have completely lost it or 
if I?m just close to losing it or?...

Even though there?s lots of beaches down here, I do believe much of the sand 
has been displaced inland.  Bathing and air conditioning are luxuries for 
the lucky; the rest of us don?t seem to have even a pot to piss in.  Things 
are bad and, with another hurricane, name of Ivan the Terrible, heading our 
way (possibly making it a triple header this season), folks are having their 
inner strength, their Chutzpa, tested more than they ever have before. God 
love my fellow Floridians, because, right here, right now, we are the 
toughest people on the planet, up there with Vietnam Vets and Marines 
stationed in Iraq.  If you have any doubts about this whatsoever, please, 
come visit us during the next one.

The FEMA hotline is 1-800-621-FEMA.  You know things aren?t going well when 
you actually have to call it.  I phoned them last Monday.  I thought it was 
the right thing to do since I now have no roof on my house.  Frances took 
that away in a slow, torturing methodical manner, piece by piece, shingle by 
shingle.  We do have homeowners insurance but you would not believe the 
deductible.  Seems as though there?s a hurricane clause in there that will 
make you want to puke when they give you the figure amounting to what you 
pay when you file a claim.

If you?ve ever hunkered down (a popular phrase used by newscasters, 
weathermen, and overweight county Sheriffs down here lately), huddled with 
five others in the middle of your house, listening to shingles being ripped 
off your roof, trying to mop up or strategically place buckets to catch the 
water pouring into your house, watching your mother in law go into a 
diabetic seizure, finding out that your kids are more mentally tougher than 
you are right now, you might have an idea of how I spent my Labor Day 
week-end.  Happy holidays btw, from the sunshine state.

With 65 mph winds and higher gusts blowing through my backyard, my 
mother-in-law?s condition had deteriorated to the point where we decided to 
phone 911 and see if God could send us an Angel, under these horrible 
conditions, and bring us an ambulance to my house.  Instead of dialing 911 I 
was quite tempted to punch in the letters GOD, on my phone keypad connecting 
me, through the magic of the airways, to Heaven.  I needed a direct line and 
I needed it now.

My mother in law was losing it, she was sweating profusely (it wasn?t that 
hot in the house but it was humid), her breathing was erratic, she was non 
responsive, and, even though my medical knowledge isn?t the best, I knew 
that if someone didn?t get out here real quick, she was not going to make it 
through this storm.  If not for working cell phones, we would have had to 
try and make that drive to the hospital, in my pick up truck, ourselves.  I 
wasn?t sure if I could get my truck, sans 4 wheel drive, out of my front 
yard; downed trees were everywhere and serious flooding was becoming a 
problem.  And, I didn?t want to risk anyone else?s life, besides my own, to 
travel with us even though I knew we would most likely do that since there 
seems to be a house load of heroes at my place.  The only weak link in the 
chain, 4 adults, one teenager, one 22 year old (his birthday was during the 
hurricane; Happy Birthday Mikie), six horses, two puppies, was my 
mother-in-law. If she didn?t receive medical attention very quickly, she was 
going to die under my watch.  NOT UNDER MY WATCH, curse, curse, curse, this 
will not happen, you cannot be serious!

The 911 operator connected me to the ambulance folks and they started asking 
tons of questions.  Aunt Julie (Erica?s sister), who had flown in from 
California (Welcome to Florida, Julie) because my mother in law had broken 
her leg a week prior.  Julie was there, her primary function over the last 
three days was to help out her mom, had a better working knowledge of all of 
Mom?s medical problems than me, so I gave Julie the phone.  They asked her 
questions for what seemed like over five minutes.  After a few key phrases 
like prior heart attack, prior stroke, diabetic, broken leg, sweating 
profusely, semi comatose, bouts of either sleeping or unconsciousness, they 
said they would respond as soon as possible, considering the current weather 
conditions.

I did not think we?d ever see these medical heroes anytime soon because we 
were right in the middle of this awful hurricane.  The news information that 
I was getting from the car radio was grim, to say the least.  Our motor 
home, which did have a running generator, was rocking and rolling from the 
horrific winds, and it was a very unsafe place to be.

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