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so i was in orlando on the night of the hurricane, on a gig at the disney world hilton. that morning, they started fussing about tornadoes and by noon, they were closing down the pool. downtown disney was completely shut down and the rest of the disney facilities were to be vacant by 2 in the afternoon. letters and phone calls to every hotel room asking people to close the heavy drapes in their rooms and stay away from windows, and be prepared to take refuge in the hallways if it comes to it.
as the afternoon rolled on, hotel personnel started clearing anything and everything that might blow away from outside areas. pool chairs, tables, fancy netting and draping, everything. the convention that i was working was evacuated from the outbuilding they were in to the main facility, the outbuilding was new and they weren't sure how it'd hold up under severe weather.
by 3-4, heavy rain started. it poured. massive water all over everything, and it just kept up. by the time we had cleared all the equipment from the outbuilding, it was going pretty good, so we all continued what we were doing within the main hotel building. rumors of power outages were abound, and there were "guards" posted strategically around the windows reminding (loudly demanding) people to stay away from windows as we watched heavy winds start sweeping over the area.
the hotel lobby and resturaunt started filling up, refugees from outlying areas who were lucky enough to get overchared for a room away from the tampa area, where the hurricane was estimated to landfall. the bigscreen tv's were switched from the olympics and sportscenter to the weather channel and local coverage, and word filtered down that the hurricane had changed directions and was headed straight for us.
as the storm intensified, i retired to our equipment storage room, which had wall-to-wall/ceiling-to-floor windows. being the bright individual i am, i opened the drapes and watched the show, as trees, limbs, livestock, and some old lady on a bike all flew by in a torrent of horizontal rain and wind. it finally started slowing down as i came to the end of my shift, and with only a flicker in the lights, i was happy to have weathered the storm safely.
the next morning, i walked around the hotel property to see lots of trees on the ground, along with many many limbs and other foliage. i came to the realization at that moment that i should open a landscaping business, but alas, the money wasn't there, so i let the opputunity pass me by. in any case, the immediate area i was in was safe, but watching the tv, not everyone was as lucky. the area got pretty trashed, lots of roofs, buildings, billboards, greenery, and other property fell victim to massive winds. the fact that the hurricane hit land much earlier than expected really caught the peopl in the hardest hit areas unawares, while i'm sure the people in tampa were all slapping their foreheads after panicking.
as i drove north out of florida sunday afternoon and monday, i watched a non-stop convoy of utility trucks headed south, big utility companies eager to capitolize on the damage. apparently, there were other, smaller scams going on too, humanity's way of keeping it real, the idea that there were already shysters out there trying to fleece those who had lost alot or everything. isn't humanity grand?
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My country is the world, and my religion is to do good.
- Thomas Paine
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