Hurricane Irma tore through Florida this past week, and her slow moving menace gave Tampa Bay residents ample time to prepare for its impending doom. And wait. And worry. And watch it’s forecasted path pendulum swing east and west, as its projected intensity fluctuated between mild and devastating. Family, friends and myself rode a roller coaster of emotions for seven arduous days as we tried to predict our fate of this mutating natural disaster. We became amateur weather professionals, analyzing radar and weather maps, trying to find a glimmer of hope that our beautiful city would be spared direct impact of Irma’s wrath.

I was in a minor emotional funk at the time Irma entered my life. My wife and I were spending the majority of our free time with “fun” friends, not realizing we were neglecting the relationships with our true friends.  A disagreement with our fun friends* and another with a family member sent my psyche into a downward spiral. I was lost in own my head, feeling that I had no one close to me aside from my wife, our pugs and cats (and frankly the cats can be fickle companions). Although my funk was entirely self-constructed, my head and heart were in a bad state.

…And then Irma came into my life.

My friends and family came together to support each other, as we did our best to prepare for impact. We shared information about where to find supplies, how to secure our homes and communicated our evacuation plans. I received texts and messages from friends and family all over the country, wishing us well.

My wife Danielle and I spent time with our local friends and family, sharing our fears and anxiety about the devastation that we potentially faced. It is little moments that make life special. It is taco night, drinking at our local watering hole and family dinners that make me smile when I look back on that week. It may sound like we were celebrating. But, we were trying to keep our minds distracted from worrying about a situation that we have no control over. And we were enjoying our lives as they were at the moment, in case the storm brought unwanted change. I felt reconnected with the important people in my life, which lifted my emotional fog.

The storm was scheduled to arrive in Tampa Bay late Sunday night, and by Sunday morning the various weather forecasts arrived at a unanimous consensus that Tampa Bay would sustain a direct hit. Irma would remain a dangerous category 4 hurricane when she arrived for her rendezvous in Tampa Bay. Danielle and I spent the day doing the things we do on an average Sunday, attempting to establish normalcy, on the most abnormal of days. We had a nice dinner with my parents, who were hosting us for the storm. And then we all sat down to brace for impact. We toggled our energy between watching the news and doing things to avoid the news, all while sipping on wine to numb our anxiety. By bedtime, the storm brought the normal wind and rain of a severe Florida thunderstorm, but nothing that appeared catastrophic. Then news outlets  began to cautiously report that the storm had subsided to a category 1, while changing course to go east of Tampa Bay. The storm brought weeklong power outages, ruined fences, downed trees and debris as far as the eye could see. But, most residents were safe and sound and that is all that mattered.

The next day we returned to our home. Our house sustained no major damage or flooding. We spent the day cleaning up yard debris and unpacking our belongings (convinced that our house would not survive, Danielle and I had brought all of our valuables to my parents house). The only thing lost was my emotional funk. When the evening came, Danielle and I reunited with our friends. Our favorite neighborhood bar decided to open, as the owner knew that “everyone needed a drink.” The place was packed with familiar faces, and we were greeted with hugs and warm wishes. It felt good to be back to living the lives that we loved, in a community that we cherished. The saying goes “home is where your heart is.” After the week of uncertainty came to a close… my head and my heart were finally home.

Visit this link to learn about ways to help Hurricane Irma and Harvey recovery efforts.

 

* Update 11/30/2017:  A person took offense to my classification of fun friends vs. genuine friends.  Please understand this was my perception as viewed through hurt eyes.  The terminology reflects how the situation made me feel.  I am sorry that this was taken harshly… and surprised that people actually read my writing. 😉

Personal beliefs aside, I think most of us can agree that it is getting ugly out there, in the world… and more specifically, in cyberspace. The past year of U.S. election rhetoric wedged a gaping divide in America. Passionate Americans have taken to the Internet to wage war on their opposition. Cat memes and selfies are replaced by political memes, fake news… and the even more surreal real news. Arguing over the building of physical walls has created emotional walls that divides co-workers, friends and families. Some choose to take to the streets in protest, but more take to the information highway to share their passionate political, religious and ideological beliefs. We have become digital evangelists… who are alienating more people than we convert. Boy, I do yearn for the days when my social media feeds consisted of pets, children and food.

So, if we abandon our social media vices, the world would be a better place? Maybe. Maybe not. Or maybe there is some digital peace amongst the chaos…

Last year I created a blog for my Creative Nonfiction class. The blog For the Love of Florida focused on my experiences trying to find a love of my Tampa, Florida residence, while clinging to my Philadelphia roots.  I shared the blog with my family and friends. One family member was particularly encouraging, saying that she thought more of this type of writing was needed in the world today. She did not elaborate on what she exactly meant and I did not ask.  But, I believe that my writing had a positive affect on her in some way, and it may have been a nice vacation from Internet conflict.

So, this blog is my attempt to sprinkle a few droplets of positivity into murky waters of the World Wide Web. I decided to abandon my previous blog, as the theme was too specific: a good characteristic for a blog, but a bad characteristic for my “attention deficit” writing tendencies.  I created this site to share my random writings, art, photography and music adventures.  And probably pug photos, food photos… and maybe even an occasional cat meme for good measure.  Maybe it will have an impact on someone (myself included) or just brighten someone’s day.  Or maybe it will just be a way to keep myself writing.

The ideological turmoil reflected in the news and social media has had a unforeseen benefit in my life.  It has forced me to reflect on the person that I want to be and how I want to conduct myself as an individual.  I have always believed in peace in the world. I believe when people take the time to know and love themselves, the trickle down effect is a more peaceful humanity.  And now, more than ever, it is important that my thoughts, words and actions reflect my beliefs.  I believe in love, compassion and equality…. and I am working on ensuring that my actions always reflect that, even in difficult situations. So, if my blog needs a theme, that would be it.  Welcome to my world…  and to my journey.