Greetings, Friends & Poetry Lovers - For the third Poetry Friday in a row, I'm afraid instead of poetry I just have a personal update from my phone. Whew, what couple weeks it's been. The Helene update is that the region is still reeling in the aftermath, but Greenville County (SC) is making progress. Schools opened here again on Wednesday. County trucks have picked up 40,000 metric tons of debris as of a couple days ago, and they'll continue until Oct. 31. There are still huge stacks on our little road. We still don't have internet/WiFi in our part of the county, those of us who have Spectrum anyway. More folks are getting power back. Our Seth & Ginnie up in the Asheville area have been volunteering a lot & are still waiting on power. I hope they get it soon, as nighttime temperatures are taking a big dip.
I have a personal Milton update too, as my family is spread out over Central Florida. (I grew up in Orlando.) I didn't sleep much Wednesday night; they certainly didn't! But everyone in our family is okay. Lots of downed trees and power outages. My niece's family is hoping their lake stays in its banks in coming days. My brother Mike & his partner Scott live in St. Pete. They left their home to ride out the storm in a hotel there with an elevation of about 50 feet. They lost power, as expected, but then the 100-plus-mile-an-hour winds blew through the lobby doors and blew water through the window seal and air conditioner into their room, soaking the carpet on that side. An edge of the roof hung down and banged against their window. Then the city shut off all water at midnight because of a line break. I'm sure it's a night they won't forget any time soon. But they are good and their house didn't sustain major damage, though water did come up to the doorstep as evidenced by the water line.
Continued prayers for all who have been affected by these devastating storms. I love October, and I'm used to a sleepless night or two each year during hurricane season, but this year for us has been another level. Stay safe & dry and go enjoy all the Poetry Friday goodness at Jama's Alphabet Soup!