Sixteen

"Tropical system to strengthen on approach to Florida". See, this isn't exactly what we hope for from October 



and November, but it's what we anticipate. Where anticipate means expect it and prepare for it. 



These things can wobble, and significantly, or even change course, but don't count on it unless you are to the right or left of the line, and then certainly do count on it and prepare. 

As of right now the line crosses PCB into Breakfast Point tomorrow morning, looks like about 6 AM Saturday. We'll bring inside all our light things, keep watch, and if it stays a low-wind force tropical storm the wrought iron furniture may stay out on the porches. I may sit outside and watch it unless the rain is blowing this way - - which, coming from the right side, it should. 

A sad thing is many people in Bay County are still living in tents from HMichael a year ago. Worse would be high winds, because Bay County is loaded with clusters of travel trailers, and not tied down, families who still have no homes to return to. I expect a lot of cheap rental property was uninsured last year, the owners have no money for repairs, 

or maybe "took the insurance money and ran", either because it wasn't enough to do the repairs, or because it was more than they could have gotten on the market 9 Oct 2018, or because contractors and materials have been unavailable

including there's a "mansion" or two on West Beach Drive where the place is obviously vacant and nothing has been done except, in the last couple weeks, the front yard mowed, perhaps by the City, IDK.

Wednesday driving over to Apalachicola, and yesterday driving home, we again saw the damage on the east side of HMichael. Countless thousands of pine trees that were standing hopefully, even defiantly, after the storm are going brown, dying and dead.

Many buildings, especially noticed churches, are ruined and cannot be used unless and until repaired and brought up to current building codes. Someone said the concrete block brick veneer 1st UMC right on the bay in Port St Joe must be raised four feet. How the aitch are you going to raise a concrete block building four feet without it crumbling? Looks like pulling down and starting over?

Over and back, much ruin still in Mexico Beach, although the cleared beach on the Gulf side of US98 looks better than it has in decades. Private property rights may prevail, but that long stretch should be public and left naturally beautiful as we saw it this week.

Kyrie eleison
Christe eleison 
Kyrie eleison

Knock knock. Hello?

T+