Monday, August 16, 2004
Here comes the story of the Hurricane
(apologies to Dylan)
Jeebus, what a weekend. Was my last post really so deserving of such a comeuppance?
My travel group was never in any real danger -- our hotel in Orlando was obviously built to stand these types of things, as we didn't even so much as lose power. We did, however, have to delay our trip to Daytona Beach for a day, just to be sure we wouldn't be on the highway while the hurricane passed. By the time we had arrived there, Charley had already cut his swath of destruction. And boy, was the damage there considerable. Practically every single roadside sign was toppled, stripped, and/or otherwise demolished. A couple of souvenir shops with numerous windows had EVERY SINGLE one of these broken, with all the merchandise strewn about inside the store and out. Trees were uprooted and branches were lying everywhere.
The wedding did take place, only it was moved from the beach to the bride's employer's house (sans electricity). The reception took place at the bar as planned, even though it had lost electricity as well. The only light was supplied by a couple dozen candles, and the music was first provided by a battery-powered boombox, and later by two of the groom's bandmates, who performed for us with an acoustic guitar and a 3-piece drum kit.
Despite the challenges, it was a very touching experience, really. I enjoyed seeing all the guests coming through for this couple, who undoubtedly were dealing with all sorts of stress as they tried to salvage the day. Everyone was gamely putting up with the unpleasantness of being in a dark, hot, humid bar with no lights while policemen directed heavy traffic outside due to the nonfunctional streetlights. Well, they did a great job of it - I felt the whole day went off as well as could have been expected.
Man, I just love it when people do good.
My best wishes to the couple and all the Floridians trying to clean up in Charley's wake.
