And Carmen reports.....
Hello and THANK GOD WE ARE ALL OK in Boca Raton!!
Just got our power restored after almost 6 days...not too bad considering the devastation that bitch Wilma has caused in Palm Beach County....Whatever you see in the news, not always the truth, so here is my version:
Monday Wilma came by around 6 am....we were told by our weather reporters that by the time Wilma came to our area after hitting the West Coast of Fla it would be a hard tropical storm.... most people in Palm Beach County did not prepare for a CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE!!!! so she huffed and she puffed and tried to blow our houses down!!...most folks had no shutters,including us, the wind was blowing at 140 miles an hour, the tiles were peeling right off our roof, water was coming in through the house like we had a fountain connected to the dining room chandelier and all through the high windows!!! The power was off, the trees were falling and limbs were flying around like missles in a war zone!! (did you see this on the news?)
Yes...gas shortages and power outages make people very nervous and anxious, there is no ATM machines to spit out money for us....there are no groceries stores open to supply us with our basic needs of ice, milk, propane for our BBQ grills, paper goods for our daily needs etc... our nail and hair appointments had to be cancelled!! there is no electricity to cook with, can't make coffee in the mornings!(my family was fearing for their lives at this point after momma not having her morning java for 3days in a row) actually people around us were all nice to each other, very polite and understanding, sometimes a few hot tempers flared at the gas stations due to the frustration of not having gas to power the generators etc...but not too bad considering.
By Wed water pressure was a little low....at this point, we could care less....we were all sick of taking cold showers, the food in our coolers was all wet and soggy, some of our friends had decided to leave town for a while...the propane in the BBQ grill was running low, and the food supply including Doritos, beer and wine had to be carefully consummed by now... you heard the gas stations had no gas and the ones that did have gas had no power to run their pumps!! So we were stucked in our houses with each other!!!
after the wind and rain stopped,we decided it was safe to come out and start cleaning debris in the yard, perhaps take a walk, that was shocking.... everywhere around us huge trees were down, power lines down, traffic lights hanging by a thread, peoples roofs and patio enclosures all over the roads, yet, we were thanking God to be alive and well....we cleaned our yard, fished the neighborhood lose tiles, trees and Halloween decorations out of our pool and decided it was not worth the time or trouble to go loot the local Wal Mart for a new color TV, shoes or clothes....we did not shoot at any helicopters flying by, we did not blame The Bush brothers or the US govt for Wima or for our misfortune, instead we found out intersting enough, that we could actually get along without our cell phones, e mails, electronic gadgets, TV's washer and dryers, etc, etc....my friend Missy took some of my "icky" laundry with her when she left town to do it for me at her daughter's (now that is a true friend!!) I actually washed some of our laundry in the tub and put up a clothes line (???) I explained to the kids in the neighborhood that this is a system used by their ancestors to make sure they had clean laundry back in the old days....
We played board games in the afternoon, the kids in our area played outside with their parents, Jordan and Nick had a pretty good Greek folkloric band going on (Nick in the violin and Jordan with his drum) Christina and Bianca came over with flutes and clarinets... even our dog was happy, he had 30 pounds of dog food, bottled water, our bed and us at home,so the aftermath had some rewards after all.....
The Fla Power and Light people have been great restoring power to more than 9 million people in less than 7 days!! the roads are pretty clear of debris, the Salvation Army and local churches have been serving hot meals throughout the area, the sky has been beautiful and the weather is absolutely gorgeous!! our windows are open (yes..i have to sweep constantly)there is a cool breeze blowing through, so no A/C is needed....imagine that!!
This afternoon, around 5 pm we heard a strange sound!! it was the power coming back on and turning on our lights, the fridge, the microwave, the TV, the PC's all at once!! I went outside to make sure it was not my delusional self just wishful thinking, and like me, most of the people in the street had the same idea, we were all jumping with joy!! after all.... 5 1/2 days of roughing it is plenty for us people of the digital-electro lifestyles.... two families from our street got together and decided to take a walk to our local neighborhood Italian restaurant for some hot food that did not taste like charcoal or propane!! it was very nice......
So.. I say that Wilma did teach me a good lesson, it brought me back to days in Cuba when there was no power, and no water, also my first days in the USA in the refugee center in Opa Locka...Boy I am glad Wilma is long gone!! and yes, I am glad to live in the greatest country on earth!!.....and of course, being back on line is nice too.....
WOW to those of you that sent emails worrying about us Thank YOU!! I will answer all 190 emails as soon as possible....
Love
Carmen
Just got our power restored after almost 6 days...not too bad considering the devastation that bitch Wilma has caused in Palm Beach County....Whatever you see in the news, not always the truth, so here is my version:
Monday Wilma came by around 6 am....we were told by our weather reporters that by the time Wilma came to our area after hitting the West Coast of Fla it would be a hard tropical storm.... most people in Palm Beach County did not prepare for a CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE!!!! so she huffed and she puffed and tried to blow our houses down!!...most folks had no shutters,including us, the wind was blowing at 140 miles an hour, the tiles were peeling right off our roof, water was coming in through the house like we had a fountain connected to the dining room chandelier and all through the high windows!!! The power was off, the trees were falling and limbs were flying around like missles in a war zone!! (did you see this on the news?)
Yes...gas shortages and power outages make people very nervous and anxious, there is no ATM machines to spit out money for us....there are no groceries stores open to supply us with our basic needs of ice, milk, propane for our BBQ grills, paper goods for our daily needs etc... our nail and hair appointments had to be cancelled!! there is no electricity to cook with, can't make coffee in the mornings!(my family was fearing for their lives at this point after momma not having her morning java for 3days in a row) actually people around us were all nice to each other, very polite and understanding, sometimes a few hot tempers flared at the gas stations due to the frustration of not having gas to power the generators etc...but not too bad considering.
By Wed water pressure was a little low....at this point, we could care less....we were all sick of taking cold showers, the food in our coolers was all wet and soggy, some of our friends had decided to leave town for a while...the propane in the BBQ grill was running low, and the food supply including Doritos, beer and wine had to be carefully consummed by now... you heard the gas stations had no gas and the ones that did have gas had no power to run their pumps!! So we were stucked in our houses with each other!!!
after the wind and rain stopped,we decided it was safe to come out and start cleaning debris in the yard, perhaps take a walk, that was shocking.... everywhere around us huge trees were down, power lines down, traffic lights hanging by a thread, peoples roofs and patio enclosures all over the roads, yet, we were thanking God to be alive and well....we cleaned our yard, fished the neighborhood lose tiles, trees and Halloween decorations out of our pool and decided it was not worth the time or trouble to go loot the local Wal Mart for a new color TV, shoes or clothes....we did not shoot at any helicopters flying by, we did not blame The Bush brothers or the US govt for Wima or for our misfortune, instead we found out intersting enough, that we could actually get along without our cell phones, e mails, electronic gadgets, TV's washer and dryers, etc, etc....my friend Missy took some of my "icky" laundry with her when she left town to do it for me at her daughter's (now that is a true friend!!) I actually washed some of our laundry in the tub and put up a clothes line (???) I explained to the kids in the neighborhood that this is a system used by their ancestors to make sure they had clean laundry back in the old days....
We played board games in the afternoon, the kids in our area played outside with their parents, Jordan and Nick had a pretty good Greek folkloric band going on (Nick in the violin and Jordan with his drum) Christina and Bianca came over with flutes and clarinets... even our dog was happy, he had 30 pounds of dog food, bottled water, our bed and us at home,so the aftermath had some rewards after all.....
The Fla Power and Light people have been great restoring power to more than 9 million people in less than 7 days!! the roads are pretty clear of debris, the Salvation Army and local churches have been serving hot meals throughout the area, the sky has been beautiful and the weather is absolutely gorgeous!! our windows are open (yes..i have to sweep constantly)there is a cool breeze blowing through, so no A/C is needed....imagine that!!
This afternoon, around 5 pm we heard a strange sound!! it was the power coming back on and turning on our lights, the fridge, the microwave, the TV, the PC's all at once!! I went outside to make sure it was not my delusional self just wishful thinking, and like me, most of the people in the street had the same idea, we were all jumping with joy!! after all.... 5 1/2 days of roughing it is plenty for us people of the digital-electro lifestyles.... two families from our street got together and decided to take a walk to our local neighborhood Italian restaurant for some hot food that did not taste like charcoal or propane!! it was very nice......
So.. I say that Wilma did teach me a good lesson, it brought me back to days in Cuba when there was no power, and no water, also my first days in the USA in the refugee center in Opa Locka...Boy I am glad Wilma is long gone!! and yes, I am glad to live in the greatest country on earth!!.....and of course, being back on line is nice too.....
WOW to those of you that sent emails worrying about us Thank YOU!! I will answer all 190 emails as soon as possible....
Love
Carmen
1 Comments:
great story carmen and keep up that good cuban spirit.
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