Deadly weather

[Amy F.]

Just thought I'd post, regarding those deadly tornadoes that cut through Central Florida, early this morning. Had a few kind people call, to make sure we were all okay, and I wanted to let everyone know that we are all fine. These tornadoes hit between 3-4 a.m., while everyone was asleep. The storm woke us up, but we never heard the tornado that completely devasted 1/4 of our town, and missed us by barely 3 blocks. The people that called me, happened to know that we live in DeLand, FL and saw it on the news, that there were more than 500 structures destroyed in Volusia County, and more than 1,000 structures destroyed in Lake County. Unfortunately, at last count, there were 19 people killed, in Lake County, about 15-20 miles from here. Thankfully, no lives were lost in my county, and most of the injured were not critical.
Many of you heard of the tornadoes that hit my area, on Christmas Day. We were blessed, then, too. It missed us by about 3 miles, but left more than 200 people homeless. This one was a lot closer, but we came through unscathed. I thank God, for watching over us, and keeping us safe, but my heart aches for those that died, or lost loved ones, and for those that survived, but lost their homes, and everything they had. Please keep them in your prayers. I know I will! Again, THANK YOU to all the folks that called, and were concerned for our safety. It's comforting to know that people are thinking about you, and that, to someone, you matter. So, in case you didn't know, or in case I haven't told you, nearly enough, I love you all, dearly, and cherish your friendships, with all my heart.
Please, take good care of yourselves, be kind to others, (whether they really deserve it, or not! lol) laugh often, love deeply, and tell the ones you love that you love them, frequently, because you just never know when your time is going to be up! Take care, guys and girls!

[shortfuseracing]

Glad to hear you are ok...

nikki

[16bw]

good to hear u are ok amy hope it all good when i get down there wed to go to the race sat datyon.

[Shorty Thompson]

I myself, had no idea until I got your IM . Glad to hear all are fine .

[stris141]

Amy, I'm really sorry I never asked how you were. I feel bad about that! But my thinking of "central" Florida, was in the middle. Not along the coast. Whice is where I pictured you guys.
Anyway, I'm super glad you guys came out of that ok!! I hope that's the last of the tornados for a long time! Did the shop come out ok also?

Take care of yourselves!

Steve

[Amy F.]

That's ok, Steve, I can't really say I'm totally sure where, exactly, you are, either. lol Around the Bay area, but that's about all I know. Actually, Central Florida includes the whole central 1/3 of the state, from coast-to-coast. Florida is a skinny state. (lol There's a joke in there. I'll tell it, another time.) Anyway, yes, we live much closer to Daytona Beach than Orlando, but it's still Central Florida.
I had to pass through the worst hit area of DeLand, yesterday, for work. That's the first time I'd seen the devastation, up close. Until then, I'd only seen what they showed on the news, which was mainly from the air. When you see it on ground-level, it takes on a whole new meaning! I felt like someone had punched me in the gut, seeing that, and I actually had to pull off the road, because I was crying too hard! I thought I was stronger than that, but after seeing how badly damaged those businesses, and people's homes are, it was just too much, for me. The ice cream shop, that was my 2nd job, as a teenager, was destroyed. (Danan, you should remember that place! It's where we went, when you guys came down here.) I work at a laboratory, and often go to people's homes, to do home blood draws. MANY of my patients live right there in the path of the storm, including in Hawthorne Hills Mobile Home Community, which was 3/4 destroyed, in 30 seconds. I can think of 6 patients, right now, that lived there. Also, there is an assited living facility, called Woodland Towers, that suffered a considerable amount of damage. I can think of close to a dozen of my patients, in that one facility. I have to admit, this one scared the hell out of me! There hasn't been a minute that goes by, that I don't think "If it had touched down 1/2 a mile north, it would've hit us!" I haven't had a good night's sleep, since it happened, and I keep thinking of all those people that may never have a good night's sleep, again.
The thing that really pisses me off, is that some people really don't understand just how devastating something like this can be, including my BOSS!! (Well, my boss's boss.) We had to call him, Friday a.m. and let him know we had no electricity at the lab, and told him what we knew about what happened. He told us to draw the blood in the dark. Seriously. What an ass! Anyway, we only had 10 patients that day, once we finally got the power back on, around 10 a.m. We actually got our asses chewed out, because of it! I couldn't believe that. We're not trying hard enough, to get new business, etc, etc, etc. The fact that 90% of the population of the town was in total shock, and many were trying to stay off the roads, at the request of the authorities, didn't seem to make any difference, to him. Did you ever get the feeling some people just don't have the common sense that God gave an ant? Hmm....
Ok, Bill, make sure you call me, when you get here, so we can get together, ok?? SOME people get to go to the races, while the REST OF US get stuck working..... lucky SOB... lol Hope to see you, then!