Charley Aftermath: Nerves are Frayed

Hurricanes really do bring out the worst in some. It is scary.

I found out a friend of mine has a brother that is in Punta Gorda. They didn’t evacuate, but since he built his house, he felt secure in it’s stability through a big storm. It did well except for a tree that fell on the roof. What a mess. My friend and her husband took them a generator on Saturday and picked up her nephews and brought them home with her to stay while their folks stay with the house. The kid’s schools are gone. Everything is gone. At 2AM, the 8 year old came into her room asking if he could sleep on her floor. The kids are pretty traumatized.

She said the gypsies are already showing up. Luckily, she said most in Punta Gorda are good country folk and all pack heat. They don’t take garbage from anyone. The signs, "This House Protected by Smith and Wesson" are standard fare. So the gypsies are showing up, asking if they can help take care of fallen trees and debris, but really looking to case the place.

On a positive note, her brother said Red Cross and FEMA have already been at their home. She said these organizations are extraordinarily organized this time, having learned from Hurricane Andrew. Her brother is singing the praises of both organizations. My friend also said that people are really pulling together, for instance, her Mom and Dad are gathering up laundry for all the people they know without power and are doing laundry all day tomorrow. City water is back on in Punta Gorda, but on boil alert. They don't expect power for another 2 weeks.

As I said in an earlier post, it’s hot as hell. To make matters worse, everyone has been traumatized. A wee bit of post traumatic stress syndrome. Nobody is sleeping well, nerves are frayed and emotions are running high. And people aren’t just worried about their homes, but their jobs. Most people can’t work. There is huge loss of income. And remember what I was saying about home owners insurance? Well folks who lost their cars are just plain screwed. You get for your car, blue book value, not replacement value. So you may have had a 5 year old car, no car payment, getting you where you needed to get, and maybe you get a couple thousand for it. What does that get you?

So it’s a bit tense right now and I don’t foresee it getting any better. The government is really cracking down on price gouging. Trust me, there is real low life out there that really wants to make money off the misfortune of others. And to those who fall in that category I say, “A pox upon you and your ilk, and may you rot!”