BusterStronghart@Gmail.com Here's my hurricane report:

Here's what happened at my house:

A window facing south on the beach burst, sounding like a cannon ball, an inside wall that bellied out due to the air pressure, breaking a wall sized bathroom mirror and some tiling. --- a bathtub that had been filled to the rim with water for washing and making the toilet flush in which the water roiled as though in a winter storm on the high seas, chandeliers swinging, the building swaying, a nearby parking lot at which a car was tossed over a ten foot wall on to our tennis courts, a row of cars all pushed together to the West end of the lot, many apartments all around us had many windows broken.

Maria praying -- I admit it-- I was having the time of my life. Well, one of the times of my life.

Much water forced under the window sills of hurricane "proof" windows by the air pressure, Doors were impossible to open and walls buckled, due to the air pressure.

Water came into our apartment under the closed window sills, but, luckily due to the many hotels that Maria and I have visited during the last thirty or forty years we had enough towels to sop up the water.

Now, until 7:00 PM tonight (two days? three?) there has been no running water nor electricity, no elevators, no stores open, no gas.

However, boy scout that I am we were prepared and had plenty of batteries, cases of water, and trawlers filled with cans of tuna fish, and full tanks of gas in our cars. The Madam took advantage of the gas and went to Orlando to visit Mickey while I stayed behind waiting for the glazier to replace our window. Electric and water back now. I'll wait until the Madam returns to take a shower.

The two evenings following the hurricane there was not a light lit in Ft. Lauderdale. I saw the real starry sky in all its glory, the glory that God meant it to have, for the first time since camp some 60 years ago.




M.