Current Events: A Hurricane Cometh

Wed. Oct 26---- It is now about 2 days after Hurricane Wilma roared through the area as a Category 3 storm, and frankly things are not that great. Some stores are open, and there is power at work (but no internet - -ahhh!). There is still a lot of debris scattered around town, and the majority of stop lights are still inoperative. Tension is simmering in the air, and I am hesitant to go anywhere where arguments or fights may erupt. ------------------------------------ All things being equal, personally I am in okay shape. My apartment sustained a little flooding through the balcony��s sliding glass doors, and my car emerged unscathed. I figured out to plug in my walkman or battery powered radio to my computer speakers, so at least there is some form of entertainment at home. On the other hand, this is my 3rd day without power, there is no hot water and my place is a little trashed from several days of storm living. It is very difficult to get focused at work, though I should be able to get some stuff done today. ---------------------------------- I have taken a few bike rides since the storm (it is probably a safer means of transportation that driving at the moment). After biking to work yesterday, I checked out the scene on Brickell Avenue/the other side of the river. There are at least 2 high rise offices with nearly all of their windows blown out on one side, and there��s glass, metal and other debris all over the place. The other especially intense sight, about a block form my place, was a semi-trailer blown on its side. ---------------------------------------- The first night when it was totally dark out was kind of eerie. Yesterday some of the Beach got power back so at least the view across the bay was illuminated. While necessary in what is clearly an ��emergency management�� situation, the existence of a curfew, checkpoints to ensure that only residents enter Miami Beach and the presence of multiple choppers flying around at night lends an ominous, quasi-martial air to the proceedings. Once power is restored I will feel a large sense of relief, though I have been warned that it may take weeks (let��s hope not!). Still, it��s going to take a little while for me to fully extricate myself from the disorienting sense of suspended reality that has gripped the region over the last few days.