OVER HERE, FOLKS!
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Posted on 08/13/2004 7:24:06 AM PDT by STARWISE
ALL FLORIDIANS, PLEASE COMMENT ON CONDITIONS, ESPECIALLY THOSE ON SOUTHERN WEST COAST
I'm inland from Tampa Bay about 25 miles. Dear God, I'm scared. I lost it all in Andrew in '92 and left South Florida after a year and a half to come to this area.
Please keep me and all those going through this storm in your prayers. I'm alone here, and this storm's probably going to be very damaging and destructive. I'm picking up branches, objects lying about. I've filled the tub with water, I'll bringing in my dog and my birds, I haven't taped the windows as I've heard that can cause worse problems when the windows are broken. I pulled the car right up close to the house on the south side. I've draped the windows with fabric to stop debris or glass .. but in high winds, it probably won't be much help.
I've got old, tall oak trees overhead .. and I don't know how the roof or house or I will fare. There is no inner room without a window, so my location will probably be my shower stall on the south side of the house. It has one typical bathroom window. There is no other place where my dog and I could at least be surrounded with some strengthened walls.
I'm not in an evacuation area, and I wouldn't be able to take my pets in anyway.
Even if I have to get offline because I need to move the computer, there may be some insight and help offered until then and many thousands of us in this area may be helped by some tip.
PLEASE pray Charley away from here .. please pray for my and our safety on the West Central Florida coast. God Bless Us All.
Yeah I know. They ain't very bright. Girl Scout trip
Good luck to them.
That sounds like a plan. We can stop for barbecue at Bob Sykes in Bessemer, too. Thanks.
Seriously though, I'd go north, then east to avoid the traffic sure to be backed up from all the people trying to get out.
I think your prayers were answered, they just announced on the radio that Charley is headed to Ft. Meyer.
The bad news is that it is a Cat. 4
I think you're exactly right, I bet I-95 is going to be a catastrophe with all the Yankees headed north, it's a zoo all summer long anyway.
Then everybody else will be headed for Atlanta.
No...Grayton is nothing special and should be avoided at all costs. Especially the state park beach cottages. Do NOT believe the pictures, brochures and actually testimony of anyone who's been there. Keep driving along 98--try Sopchoppy, St. Joe or Panacea...try Panama City or Pensacola, forget you have ever heard of ...oh never mind...it will be another Daytona in five years.
it looks now as if it will cross florida, jump into the ocean again, and hit the southern facing coast of south carolina.
OVER HERE, FOLKS!
Psalm 29 ~ Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy array.
The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, upon many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.
The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness, the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
The voice of the Lord makes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all cry, "Glory."
The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!
------
The wind and the rain approach, O God, with a mighty force upon the people and the land. Cause us to prepare for Your visitation, not only our habitation, but our hearts, as well. Make us aware that You, alone, have the power to still the waves of the sea. Man is nothing in the face of Your awesome power. We plead Your mercy in the face of this storm ... pass over the people, O God, that they might speak of Your loving kindness in the midst of the thunder and flash of Your voice. Hear the prayers of Your people, O God, and turn the hand of devastation from the land. In the Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen ...
Too funny. I also have a demented Sister who lives close to there, in Seminole. Maybe there's something in the water supply? $;-)
Amen and thank you for your wonderful prayer.
When we first got our place in Destin, Sandestin was a lonely little resort out in the middle of nowhere, with the nearest business being the Publix on 98 4 miles away. We could take the little coast road to the Back Porch, which was then nothing more than a beachside shack that served cold beer and great sandwiches. Now, well....you see what it is now. We hardly go there at all in the summer any more. We use it primarily in Sept-Oct, and May. Grayton Beach, Seaside, and Seagrove will soon be joining the trend that Destin took I'm afraid. The state park at Seaside may be enough to preserve it as there's not many places to build, but I wouldn't count on it. We'll see. Hopefully with Panama City undergoing a re-vitalization, it will take some of the pressure off of those quaint little beachside communities for development. It would be nice to see at least some of the Emerald Coast remain untouched by big development.
Being a native of Key West, I've been through quite a few hurricanes. Several on my Grandfather's boat (he used to just run it up into a canal through the mangroves at high tide and put out 4 anchors plus lines to mangrove roots (environmentalists recoil in horror at this today!!!). The winds would howl like a banshee and the boat would need to be painted afterwards but, we survived!
My last real hurricane was in 1966 in Tampa. A group of us at the Davis Island Marina rode out the storm on a 44' Houseboat while we consumed cases of beer and tended the lines on our respective boats (there was about an 8 foot rise at high tide due to the hurricane blowing the gulf waters into Tampa Bay!)
Quite frankly, approaching seven decades of storms, I could do without the adrenalin rush!!!
Ok, Orlandoans, it's predicted to come right thru Orlando now. BUT! we should get a better picture at the 3pm hour just in case.
Three tornados have been spotted: one in Lake County and two in Orange County. Haven't heard any reports yet of damage.
Mobile home parks have been ordered evacuated in Osceola, Orange and Seminole counties (Central Florida)
Orthodox Catholic ping! Offer up your 3 pm prayers for the people in Florida. Say a Rosary or a Divine Mercy chaplet. God help them and protect them!
DIVINE MERCY CHAPLET HERE. Now.
The one I saw this morning had it passing further west and cutting into Ga. but this one puts it right over Jax. I havene't heard if Mayport has been evacuated. they normally send empty the port rather than trying to ride out the storm.
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