On this exact date 17 years ago – the 22ND of August of 1992 – also a Saturday – we were given our final instructions and orders to evacuate the air base as quickly as possible due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Andrew. We had no idea what Andrew would bring, and it ultimately brought a once-in-a-lifetime storm of mass destruction to the base and the surrounding South Miami-Dade countryside.
It was the most horrific experience of my entire life – a Sunday night / Monday morning that I never went to sleep. I never wish to relive that night or the nightmarish week that followed. I don’t like to write about it, and I don’t like to talk about it. A lot of good ultimately came out of that storm. I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t be living and working here in Homestead today 17 years later if it weren’t for Hurricane Andrew. I’d be elsewhere. But it happened, and here I am.
One song in particular was receiving heavy airplay on the radio during the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. It’s the duet of Patty Smyth and Don Henley. Together they sang “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough”. Patty co-wrote the Grammy-nominated song that played out like a post-love song. It was the story of two former lovers who were moving away from their relationship together and moving on with life.
I interpretted the lyrics in a slightly different manner:
—
‘I don’t wanna lose you.’
—
‘And I don’t wanna hate you.
I don’t wanna take you.
But I don’t wanna be the one to cry.
That don’t really matter to anyone, anymore.
But like a fool I keep losing my place.’
—
‘It makes a sound like thunder.
It makes me feel like rain.’
—
‘And there’s no way home.
When it’s late at night and you’re all alone.’
—
‘There’s a reason why people dont stay where they are.
Baby sometimes love just ain’t enough.’
This was treated at the time as my farewell love song to Homestead. I didn’t want to leave. But I had to. The Homestead that I had known for nearly 5 years prior to that was all gone. She was completely destroyed. My home was inhabitable. My job was non-existant. I looked at Homestead one last time in my rear-view mirror, as this song played on the radio and made me cry.
1. I just shaved. I shave twice per week – every Tuesday and Saturday afternoons. If I were to shave more often than that – even for a 3RD time per week – then it would begin to irritate my face. Shaving is easier when there’s more to work with, and 3 to 4 days worth of hair growth is just about right for me.
2. The Cape Verde hurricane season is getting cranked up. Those are the tropical waves that move off the coast of Africa and move in a westward direction across the Atlantic. It generally takes each system 10 to 14 days to get from Africa to North and Central America. Tropical Depression # 2 is out there now, and I am forecasting it to become Tropical Storm Ana but remain a weak Tropical Storm for at least the next 4 to 6 days. It formed in an area that is generally considered to be too far north to eventually affect Florida in the long run.
3. My goal in this new Life of mine is to spend less time on the computer and on the Internet, so exploring the wonderful world of Facebook and all that it has to offer is not an option for me. I am very happy with this blog (and its MySpace predecessor) that effectively chronicles the past 26½ months of my 36-month journey. I wish to continue this blog. If you wish to know what’s goin’ on in my Life then read all about it right here on this blog – or even better – hang out with me in person. I make a lot of public appearances nowadays. It’s easy to find me.
4. It’s Day 2 of ‘Lipitor: Reunited And It Feels So Good’, and so far I have not experienced any negative side effects. If anything I may be discovering a positive side effect out of it – increased energy. I seem to be running around my small home a lot more. I’m literally running around – as in jogging. If it weren’t for all of these walls around me I would just keep on going.
5. There’s Something About Key West: After NOT visiting the Island paradise since the end of 2006 it now appears that I will visit it three times in less than 40 days. I was down there with a buddy on Saturday August 01ST. I’ll be back down there again the weekend after next with members of my Life Group. I’ll be back down there for a 3RD time as part of my Carnival cruise during Labor Day Week. It’s weird how events work out like that.
This month of August 2009 marks several notable anniversaries for me. It’s the 3RD anniversary of my new Life courtesy of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It’s the 8TH anniversary of me being a homeowner after renting this same home for 6 years prior to that. Further back into the 1990s it’s the 16TH anniversary of me working for my current employer – the 482ND Fighter Wing. That was an indirect result of what happened 17 years ago this month – Hurricane Andrew’s destruction of Homestead. And going way back 25 years ago this month it’s my silver anniversary with the USAF. I actually joined the Delayed Enlistment Program a month prior to my Senior year in High School in August of 1984. 10 months later I was getting yelled at in Basic Military Training.
Here’s a U.K. TOP 25 hit from 25 years ago from one of my favourite electronic pop groups of all-time – Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark (OMD). It’s from their critically-acclaimed 1984 album “Junk Culture”. It’s a virtually unknown song here stateside, so this ‘Saturday Night Retro’ pick-hit of the week is for all of my European readers who enjoyed the OMD pop phenomenon back in its day. Here – my friends – is that song all about those “Tesla Girls”:
CountUp 