Have you ever been without electricity, hot water, means to cook meals and there were long lines for gasoline (when it could be had) and ice to delay throwing out the contents of your refrigerator and freezer? Quite a few of us here in South Florida have had to do with the wreckage left by Wilma’s passing through across the peninsula from the west coast to the Atlantic and then way away from us. She dealt us a dirty hand and should be as embarrassed as Katrina and Rita should be for wrecking the gulf coast cities, most of which will never be the same again.
We were minimally damaged but being without the ability to flick on a switch to have light and all the appliances we have long been dependent upon working caused us to feel very peculiar. That is to say, we felt very bad and the forecasts of being without light and hot water for more than the four days of being without this modern miracle of energy on demand, caused depression in a lot of us.
The lights went out during the hurricane at 7:00 p.m. exactly last Sunday and my electrically operated chair was clutching me and then refused to let me go. Carol’s bed was fixed in position for sleeping and remained that way until just a few minutes again. The lights came on about 9:00 p.m. tonight when we heard cheering through windows that had been blown open so they could not be cranked down again. There was euphoria in the air and we shared it as we realized that our iced food from refrigerator and freezer, now in ice chests, one of which we bought on our trip outside to see what possibilities there were without traffic lights and the need to look for ice.
We waited in line for ice, water and a box of food for over an hour. I got out of the car when we realized that the line in which we were waiting would be there for some time. I had two crutches with me and made good time to get to the end of the line at the Greyhound race track in Hallandale while Carol crept along as the officers directing traffic allowed. The line was hellaciously long and I saw Carol being directed to a parking space and thought the car must not be hers for the driver’s door stood open. I continued along with the others at more than a snail’s pace and was surprised when I found that she had gone back to close the door and had gotten ahead of me and left our newly acquired ice hamper and shopping wagon ahead with the person behind her as she tried to seek me out. We were lucky and actually got to near the head of the line and received our allotment of ice, water and this ubiquitous box of “food”.
We are fine. The lights are back on. The damage to our windows will be repaired and most of us in 7th Moorings made it this far. Now for a short period of euphoria and the real world will reveal itself to us in due course.