The whole point of Kiffa's argument was that you were implying that a
hurricane is "fun."
I've been through one. Hurricane Erin. It was minor, but it in itself
wasn't fun. When we went onto the local base housing to see the
damage, it was a ghost town. We had no power for over 24 hours. That
and we lost a mailbox. It's true that surfers could say it was fun
because of the increased surf it caused, but hurricanes that go
offshore and never hit land can do the same thing.
I live south of Cocoa Beach. I've had to see the aftermath on tv for
days after this thing. Charley wasn't FUN for anyone. This was Andrew
2. Just deciding to follow the worse possible path imaginable. The
morning after, we couldn't even have an official announcement from
power officials because it took them over 2 hours to go the equivilent
of 3 miles. The reporters had to go the equivilent of a one and a half
minute drive. It took them one and a half hours. Why? Orlando has old
Oak trees nearly everywhere. Or I should say they had old Oaks
everywhere. Lots and lots of downed trees.
As I type this, I still can only contact one fur in the area out of
the 15 or so that I know. Power is still out in a lot of areas out
there. Food has spoiled. We had people brought into hospitals
yesterday after carbon monoxide poisoning at a supermarket. Ice, ice
is one thing that is unbelievably scarce. Places are trying to
distribute it, but they are still thousands of bags per day short of
the demand. Power is slowly coming back online though. Only a few
hundred thousand or so in the state now that need it back. That's out
of over 1 million that lost it.
This wasn't anything close to fun. There is a video out there showing
a family outside of Punta Gorda as they lost their screened in porch.
You all should honestly see that video. It's hard to invision 145 mph
winds. Watching a fairly large screened in porch go in less than 2
seconds will help. When all is done with counting the costs, this
could easily be more devistating then Andrew. Why? The orange crop.
The hurricane went through one of the most productive areas in Florida
for growing oranges.
There's so many things that this hurricane has done that I can't even
name them in one email. Wet n' wild is just about gone. They lost a
lot of their slides thanks to the winds. Orlando International Airport
lost roof sections. More and more and more reports keep coming in
every day on just how extensive the damage is. One of the things that
pisses me off though is how the local news stations played it down.
They announced that the winds were down to "only 85mph" when it made
it to Orlando. They failed to mention the pocket that had 100mph winds
that was on doplar radar that they noticed later. They got in the
report that planes were flipped and split in two at the Orlando
Executive Airport and they thought it was a joke. That was until they
got the video....
Ok I'm rambling. For anyone that is worrying about James and Desiree,
don't be. From what I've heard (from one of Hardiman's HS friend) they
live well south of where the hurricane struck. They live south of me,
and all I got was maybe 45mph winds. Erin gave us almost 80.
Daverab
--- In SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com, "Akal Ashata Alis"
<akalalis_at_e...> wrote:
> > > ' Earthquakes are fun - it's just depressing that people die
or get
> hurt
> > > in them.'.
> > > Point is, yes, people getting dead sucks. But does that
diminish the
> fun?
> > > Not at the time, only afterward.
> >
> >
> > That... has got to be just about as ignorant a statement as the one I
> originally replied to, if not more ignorant.
>
> Really? I suspect you'd also say that 'Shit happens' would be
ignorent as
> well. It's a carefree way at looking at things, yes. Perhaps a tad
selfish.
> But you call me ignorent for what? Expressing my opinion about
something?
>
> > Some rollercoasters have also killed
> > > people - some quite a few people. This does not make
rollercoasters any
> less
> > > fun. The same can be said for rock climbing, or any extreme sport.
> >
> >
> > Yes, but those are risks that we take willingly, if we choose to. I
> suppose you could (and probably would) argue that living in a
high-risk area
> for hurricanes is also a choice, but a natural disaster can happen
anywhere.
> >
>
> It is a choice, and yes, natural disasters can, and do, happen
everywhere.
> I've seen it first had, on several occasions. While it does suck
that people
> die, and when people I know die it sucks worse, I also remember that
> everyone dies - it's how we live that defines us. Call me ignorent for
> believing that how we live is a bit more important then how, and
when, we
> die, if you will.
>
> > > We also need the rain that storms provide. I'd be more of a
cynic,
> but my
> > > less joyful and darker opinions have no place in this forum.
> >
> > > AAA (who does like climbing rocks, but refuses to get on certain
> > > rollercoasters)
> >
> >
> > I wasn't being cynical. The post I replied to truly bothered me. I
don't
> know if you're old enough to really remember the devastating
earthquake in
> the
> > San Francisco/Oakland area back in 1989, but something I saw on TV
in the
> aftermath really troubled me. It was video footage of a person
standing in >
> the middle of a street, pointing at a crack in the pavement and
laughing.
> And not more than twenty yards behind them was a partially collapsed
> building
> > that-- who knows?-- someone may have died in. The post I replied
to struck
> me the same way. Yes, it was posted *before* the storm hit and did its
> > damage, but does that really make it any less inappropriate? Can
someone
> really say, "Oh, well I didn't know it would kill anyone," when we
know that
> > that's what hurricanes do when they make landfall?
>
> No, you where disagreeing with a view that is -just- as valid as your
> own. Yes, I remember it. I was visiting Berkeley - where I now live-
at the
> time. In fact, my above quote was taken from a family friend who was
also
> there. He said it was tragic that people died, and that it ruined
the fun of
> the earthquake itself. Does that mean I'm ignorent, too? For
actually being
> here when the event happened, and -yet- doing what I could to help out
> around here, but still considering the rolling ground of the quake
itself,
> 'Cool'? Or maybe you just want something to argue about, eh, because
someone
> said something semi-flippent and it tweeked your sensibilities?
> Since you went ahead and posted to this, I'm going to say it again,
> people die. Hell, if I died sometime soon, I'd want people to think
about
> how I lived, more then the fact I was dead, want people to remember that
> while somethings are serious matters, on the whole, life is to be
-enjoyed-,
> even when bad things happen - like natural distasters. I know a few
friends
> of mine who to this day throw a after quake party - they always raise a
> toast to those who died, but then turn around and crack jokes about
the A's
> vs. The Giants having been the cause of the quake to begin with.
> Is that ignorent too? Please, tell me, which part of the simple view
> that some parts of life - though tragic - can also have some fun,
for some
> people, in them? Personally, people who never seem fazed by that
stuff amaze
> me - they often help keep people who are in alot dimmer spirits from
dipping
> too far in to depression, as my own mother almost did when my
step-dad was
> trapped on BART during the earthquake in question.
>
> > Hey, people are free to think whatever they want, and to post those
> thoughts if they want to. I just don't see why anyone would *want* to
> portray
> > themselves that way. People sometimes say things before they
really think
> them through-- and when you're talking with your mouth, it's
understandable
> > that those slip-ups happen. But when you're typing a message,
you're given
> an opportunity to think before you press that "send" button. I guess
I just
> > wish people did that more often.
>
> Maybe to make a point that any, and all, views are equally valid
given
> the right person and situation? In my case, that certainly was the
point. I
> did put alot of careful thought into my e-mail - but you, as so many
in the
> world often do - took it off the deep end. Point of fact, I'm not saying
> you're not right - but I am saying neither is the person you're
responding
> to wrong. You seem to think that people are not thinking through
what they
> are sending - in my case, I have - but my views on life and death
are a bit
> far removed from the norm. I don't mourn the loss of life - not in
the same
> way so many might. Instead, I try and celibrate who those people
where, what
> they stood for. Yes, I miss them, but I understand that when your
time is
> up, there it is, your time is up.
> I have several friends who disagree with me on some of my views
- but
> not all of them. I will say one last thing - in a few hundred years,
there
> won't be a lot of people outside of historians who will care about
the loss
> of life from one natural disaster - granted, they won't give a damn
about
> this exchange either. The long view - especially that long - can be very
> comforting.
>
> > -Kiffa, the cat/mouse hybrid
> > "I'm my own worst enemy."
>
> Indeed you are, Kiffa. We are all truely our own worst enemy. But
like
> the man says, Perfection is a road, not a destination.
>
> Alis (who is done with this subject now)
>
>
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Received on Tue Aug 17 2004 - 06:46:38 CDT