My niece in Lakeland, Florida (that worked for me here in Detroit for three years a few years ago) has been keeping us updated on what's going on there. The first thing she says is how blessed they are compared to many other areas that were hit so much harder. Here is a small excerpt from her most recent email.
"Yesterday (Tuesday) I spent the afternoon and evening at a distribution center passing out water and ice to hurricane victims. A car came through the line and I heard the announcer on the radio say that Polk Co. schools would be closed until Mon., Oct. 4. I guess now I'll be able to go back Thursday and help some more. (My niece is a school teacher so that is why that news stood out for her) Much of the county is still without power and some without water. I've settled in for the long haul since our subdivision might not have power for at least two more weeks. There are a lot of trees down on power lines. These are the times I praise God for summer camp training which prepared me for living in the heat and the Adirondack mountains for showed me how to live through many power outages."
(end email)
She was telling me that where my nephew (her brother) and his family live just a couple miles away in Lakeland from her there was no way to drive out to the main streets as trees were covering the side streets for the most part at least enough to block the road. So he went and got a chain saw from their church and got the neighbors and they all went to the trees one by one cutting them in smaller pieces and moving them out of the way. Tree by tree they made a path to the main streets.
She told me to go to twww.theledger.com website and view the photo gallery pics of a strip mall in town that the back half of all the stores just fell off into the water. All except for an Outback that was on the end. There is some kind of retention water, well this is the link and you can see what it says. http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=LL&Dato=20040927&Kategori=PHOTOS&Lopenr=927001&Ref=PH
I know there has been so much devastation down there. My niece has been telling me all the various things people at her church have been doing, like builders, etc. going and helping people who were hit hard and helping them clean out and rebuild.
It feels so good to read of all the help going on between florists on this and the other board also.
Makes the reaction to the big northeast blackout last year seem a little overdone, huh?
"Yesterday (Tuesday) I spent the afternoon and evening at a distribution center passing out water and ice to hurricane victims. A car came through the line and I heard the announcer on the radio say that Polk Co. schools would be closed until Mon., Oct. 4. I guess now I'll be able to go back Thursday and help some more. (My niece is a school teacher so that is why that news stood out for her) Much of the county is still without power and some without water. I've settled in for the long haul since our subdivision might not have power for at least two more weeks. There are a lot of trees down on power lines. These are the times I praise God for summer camp training which prepared me for living in the heat and the Adirondack mountains for showed me how to live through many power outages."
(end email)
She was telling me that where my nephew (her brother) and his family live just a couple miles away in Lakeland from her there was no way to drive out to the main streets as trees were covering the side streets for the most part at least enough to block the road. So he went and got a chain saw from their church and got the neighbors and they all went to the trees one by one cutting them in smaller pieces and moving them out of the way. Tree by tree they made a path to the main streets.
She told me to go to twww.theledger.com website and view the photo gallery pics of a strip mall in town that the back half of all the stores just fell off into the water. All except for an Outback that was on the end. There is some kind of retention water, well this is the link and you can see what it says. http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=LL&Dato=20040927&Kategori=PHOTOS&Lopenr=927001&Ref=PH
I know there has been so much devastation down there. My niece has been telling me all the various things people at her church have been doing, like builders, etc. going and helping people who were hit hard and helping them clean out and rebuild.
It feels so good to read of all the help going on between florists on this and the other board also.
Makes the reaction to the big northeast blackout last year seem a little overdone, huh?