Many of you who follow me on Twitter, have probably heard of the storm that I just went through this past weekend. On Friday, what they are calling an “inland hurricane” hit Carbondale and Southern Illinois. The entire area has been declared a disaster area, and thousands are without power; many without food, drinking water, and homes too.
I have to say that we’re really blessed. Both Brad and I were huddled up in the hallway with a frantic dog for a few minutes. After that, we moved out of the hall, but things weren’t over. The wind started again, and we ended up in the laundry room because we realized that debris was hitting our bathroom window which was right by the hall.
Fortunately, we were able to get Brad’s son after the storm subsided, and find out a little more about what had happened. The entire area was a disaster. I have been born and raised in South Florida. This was nothing new to me…didn’t I do this last year? Going through multiple hurricanes prepared me for this. It did not prepare me for the biggest shock…how kind people were being.
Many gas stations and stores in the area opened up to get rid of their inventory since the power was out. I don’t carry cash on me, and we just wanted to find something to get Brad’s son a drink. Of course, their credit card machines weren’t working but one man in front of me looked at the kids’ drink I had in my hand and said “I’ll pay for it. Don’t worry.” I don’t know who that man is, but thank you so much!
We drove about fourty five minutes to a place with power. There, we got gas and some things to hold us through the next couple of days. When we pumped the gas, I realized that we got more than I pre-paid for. After going back inside, we found out a nameless person had pre-paid for our pump already. Again, I don’t know who they are but thank you!
These two were just a few of the examples I saw of people going way over what they should in a time like this. Currently, I am on a tethered laptop, working and at a place being powered by a generator. Home still has no power, but we have a cooler, a grill that works, and everyone’s safe and sound.
Once things get back to the way they should be, I’ll let you all know what is going on. Until then, my BlackBerry is keeping me from being horribly bored. You’ll see me update a plenty on Twitter, FriendFeed , and Facebook.
