HURRICANE !!!

I’m a Midwest boy. Always living within 500 miles, at most, from Chicago. Well, that was until 1984 when I moved to Florida. Then Texas. Then Michigan. And now in Florida again.

People who read this who live in Florida or “hurricane country” will so, “So what.” Those who aren’t in those areas will be amazed.

Earlier this week those of us on the Gulf side of Florida got ready for Hurricane Elsa. It was a tropical storm until, suddenly, it became a Category 1 hurricane.

Cat 1 simply means that winds range from 74 – 95 mph. Cat 2 is 96 – 110. 3 is 111 – 129. Cat 4 is 130 – 156 and Cat 5 is 157 plus.

The first time I moved to Florida in 2003 I learned about them. As I Midwest boy I could tell you what 24” of snow meant. I could tell you what black ice was. I could tell you how to snow blow a driveway, so the wind didn’t blow back in your driveway everything you just blew out.

But hurricanes – ignorant. At least that was till August 9, 1994. Hurricane Charley was coming up the same coast that Elsa did. Valpak’s corporate office, where I worked in Largo, closed for the day and put garbage bags over the computers in case the windows blew out.

The morning of the 9th I drove up the busiest road in town needing to pick up a prescription at Walgreens. When I passed the Walmart, I got it.

One of the busiest Walmarts in the Tampa area was boarded up. It was a ghost town. All the restaurants were closed. McDonalds was closed. It looked like Madison, WI the Sunday the Packers were in the Super Bowl - no one was out.

I finally found a place downtown St. Pete for a burger and a beer. Then hurried back to the condo I was living in to wait. Turned on the Weather Channel and watched Jim Cantore tell us the tale of woe that was about to happen to Tampa Bay.

If you’ve ever watched the Weather Channel you know who Jim is. You’ve seen him in snowstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes and any other weather tragedy.

Charley was now Cat 4 – 149 mph. Suddenly it turned inward about 100 miles south of Tampa. All of the people who evacuated from Tampa to Orlando had a surprise when Charley hit Orlando.

In Tampa, nothing. No wind. No rain. It was a miracle.

Welcome to Florida and welcome to hurricanes, Mark.

Charley affected Florida, North Carolina, Cuba, South Carolina and the Cayman Islands. There was almost $17 billion in damage. 15 people died. It was the first one of four hurricanes that year that ended up crisscrossing to Orlando in the middle of the state. Amazing.

Back to Elsa. Cat 1.

Elsa hit in the middle of the night. We were ready, though. Plants next to the house. Drapes pulled to keep the shattered glass by the window. We tipped over the table and umbrella on the deck so it couldn’t blow through the windows. Bird feeder in the garage. The tub filled with water in case we lost water and needed to flush the toilets for a couple days. Flashlights everywhere for when the power went out.

The Weather Channel was on all night. Waiting. Praying.

Woke up at 5. Dark. Couldn’t hear the wind and didn’t see the rain. The Weather Channel showed Elsa was now past New Port Richey. No idea the damage.

Back to sleep and awake again at 6:30. Light outside. Drapes open. Didn’t see any damage. YEA! Still had electricity. Still had water to flush the toilets.

Whew. Safe.

Today I think about hurricanes vs. tornados vs. snowstorms. They are like life, aren’t they? Some things you can prepare for. Others you can’t.

We are huge believers in prayers. We are huge believes in daily devotions. We are huge believers in goal setting.

But we are also huge believers in preparation – not just saying God will take of everything. He does but He gives us free will. It is that free where all of our mistakes take place.

One of our fave writers is Matthew Kelly. His book, Dream Manager, helped change our life – one of the best books on goal setting. He also has a daily devotional. Excerpts from today are:

Whether you are struggling to overcome a pattern of defeat, yearning for inner peace, trying to create lasting happiness, wishing to succeed in your career, desperately trying to overcome procrastination, or battling with an addition – this lesson holds the key.

Just do the right thing.

In each moment, just keep doing the next right thing. And keep doing the next right thing. You will be amazed at how quickly you work yourself out of the funk if you approach it in this way. Don’t worry about next week or next month or next year. Just do the next right thing and keep doing the next right thing, and gradually you will act your way out of destructive patterns.

As in life, when faced with a hurricane one can make the best decisions and do the right thing for themselves and their families.

It seems so simple, doesn’t it? Then, how do we all get so out of whack?