Key West Lou / HAPPY BIRTHDAY LISA

Lisa, my baby. Fourth and last child. Fifty eight years old yesterday. Happy birthday my love!

Ian ain’t showing no respect! Only way to describe the situation. Traveling all over. Puerto Rico and other islands. Florida, South Carolina and other states. Leaving behind devastation, ruin, and death.

Why so bad? Global warming involved? Difficult to say. There have been other hurricanes as bad. Andrew and the Hurricane of 1935 for example.

Even as a Category 1, Ian with its water damage is wreaking havoc in South Carolina.

I got out of the house yesterday. Some errands to run and wanted to see what Key West looked like.

Damage nowhere similar to Fort Myers and other areas. Which I knew would be the case. We were lucky.

The streets were different. Many areas covered in brown. Looked like hardened shit. The only way to describe it. Note the damage was foliage. I assume cars drove over it turning it into brown mulch which dried. Time and rain will wash it away.

Tree branches and leaves laying on the roadside. People already cleaning up. More than I would have thought. In some places, tree trunks sawed into pieces lying with the branches and leaves. In other places, a piece of wall or two and some furniture which I assume had been soaked when water entered a home.

I ran into no flooded streets. Of course, Ian had visited 2-3 days earlier.

About a 100 boats displaced. Appeared to be live-a-boards.

I did not go near the beaches. I had been forewarned the road running by Higgs was buried with sand. Smathers with concrete. Not sure yet if parts of the Boulevard or sidewalk running along Smathers was ripped up.

I went to Bank of America to get cash. The ATM out of money. Went inside. Packed. I left. Never saw so many in the bank at one time. I really did not need cash that bad. My cards would do if I spent any money.

The building across from Bank of America which was on fire wednesday morning destroyed. Doubt any part is salvageable.

Traffic was heavy everywhere.

Stopped at Lisa’s to wish her a Happy Birthday! She was tied up on a conference business call. Shared a few words with Jake and went home.

The Key West Citizen has changed its name. Effective today it is Keys Citizen. Understandable. Money. The paper has published less and less about Key West in recent years. Cut its publication to 4- 5 days a week. Now it will cover all the Keys with one paper. Publication days will continue to be limited.

Ian had to cause a lot of turmoil for the ocean population. I was and continue to be concerned about the turtle hatching population on the beaches. Thousands gone forever.

I doubt the reef itself is attractive today. Should take a few days for the water to calm down.

Steve Thompson wrote of the beauty of the reef in the 1970’s.

My first time to the reef was just too cool. White sand beach we pulled onto.

It was like floating in a giant orange castle. Bright colored fish floating by with no hassle. The water was so clear it was like outer space. Everything moving at a slow space. Couldn’t believe no one was around. Just the reef, the fish, and not a sound.

I never saw it that bright again. I’ll remember that dive till the end.

Guy is making progress. Spirit back on a flatbed today. The flatbed will take Spirit to a repair yard. There it will remain during repairs. At the moment, Guy plans to remain and work on the repairs himself.

Syracuse/Wagner 5 pm today. Syracuse a 55 point favorite.

Hope there are no surprises.

Enjoy your day!

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