WTF Jamie?

I have to admit I am totally captivated by Hurricane Katrina. I have spent the last few hours watching Anderson Cooper and Rob Marciano (who I would watch if they were reading stereo instructions but that is another story), blow around in giving updates on her power. This is a huge storm. I hope that she weakens before anymore damage is done.

I have this fascination with hurricanes or it may be the other way around. Back in September of 1989 I was starting my second year living in Sumter. My parents divorce was almost completed and my mother had just bought a house (it was a big deal cause I spent a great deal of my life growing up in a trailer on the farm in Wilson) and even though the adjustment was not smooth I was starting to be ok. *Side note* I grew up on a farm where my grandparents lived in a house next door and I really never knew there was a stigma about living in a trailer because it was very much home to me.

Anyway my Mother was dating someone in his mid 20's back then and now when I think about it he was younger then than I am now so that freaks me out!!! Well I remember sitting in the house watching the news that Hurricane Hugo was headed for the South Carolina coast. This storm was one of the biggest in some time and was going to at least be a category 4 when it hit. All of a sudden my mother flipped, called my dad and told him to meet her halfway so we could stay with him. My mother sent us 40 miles closer to the storm!!!!! I can remember how dark everything was that night headed to Wilson and how it seemed to be raining leaves everywhere. Well my dad had us stay at my grandparents house and we stayed up till almost midnight trying to see what was going to happen. My dad stood guard as we one by one fell asleep. In typical Jamie fashion I slept though the whole thing (just like the earthquake in 03) the next morning I woke up to the strangest blue grey colored sky. There were huge trees down everywhere and our swing set had blown up against the back door pinning it shut.

As it turns out the storm had made a direct hit of Charleston and ridden up the river and lake system that ends less than 10 miles from the farm. No one had predicted this course and the two counties by us were the worst hit outside of the Charleston area.

We were lucky that everyone was ok and we did not have very much damage. I remember seeing how much others had lost. We went almost 3 weeks without school, power and running water. No big deal to an 11 year old but today I would be begging for a warm shower.

A few years later Hurricane Andrew wiped out Homestead Florida, where my Mother spent most of her teenage years. It was the most costly storm in history.

When I moved to Atlanta the last thing I was worried about was Hurricanes. That was until 2004 when 3 tore into Florida and moved right into Atlanta with in a month. Causing trees to fall, major flooding and once again me in the dark.