Hurricane Milton- the aftermath

                   Hurricane Milton- the aftermath

                    It is 2:30 A.M. on Thursday, the tenth of October, in the year of our Lord 2024. I think it was the relative quiet that had awakened me. The winds outside had subsided to a gentle 20 mph. The tree tops were still ruffled in the wind, but they were not engaged in that  writhing and terrible “oaken ballet,” from the heavy winds of the last few days.

                 Power outages had come and gone here  during the night. Most of our devices were flashing and asking to be reset. But, this morning, we still had power, though it blinked on and off intermittently.  Media reports had 200,000 customers in our area without power. The coastal barrier islands had all lost power. It would be a few days before they were reconnected and “saw the light.” Across the state, power outages had darkened many communities. Hurricane Milton had lessened to a category one storm now, as it tormented the Orlando to Jacksonville corridor of northeastern Florida, with heavy winds and torrential rains. Scores of tornados had wreaked various levels of damage all across Florida.

                   Damage assessments would arrive for all of us with the light of the coming dawn. Coastal flooding had taken a heavy toll of damages since Milton had slammed into the Florida’s west coast, in the Sarasota area during the early hours of the morning. Television coverage of the damages will flood the airwaves in the coming days.

                    I could feel the easing of tensions in myself. During the height of the storm, you are tensed up. You have to be ready to rock and roll no matter what hit you. Now, we just had to adapt to whatever was left after the storm. Our community at Spring Run had fared well. We had dodged another weatherized bullet. Though bruised and battered, the cleanup will start in a few hours. Thousands of those wonderful line men will begin to rewire and reconnect the electrical system across the state. I can remember seeing these men in storms past, and cheering for the plucky workmen, as they climbed the poles and rewired the electrical grid.

       We will suit up and hit the gym in a few hours. Life will go on and we will be appreciative for what we have and what we were spared. The good Lord had looked over us these last few days.

     Signing off from Estero, Florida.

                                            -30-

                                     (411 words)

                          Joseph Xavier Martin