The Winds are Picking Up: After Helene and Milton

Image: a street in my neighborhood following Hurricane Milton.

There’s nothing like two back-to-back hurricanes to remind you to talk more to people you care about.

I am, in fact, still alive. After last year’s grief and illness, I began writing poetry (hopefully more on that to come!), and I’ve been migrating the blog away from WordPress to a static site generator. I’ve also been reading more, mostly non-fiction.

I guess one could say I was complacent.

While Helene wasn’t bad for me personally (the Tampa Bay area saw surge, but not strong winds), it devastated Western North Carolina, where my immediate family now lives, and where I nearly moved to a month ago. I got cold feet before I signed on with a realtor, and that was a week or two before Helene arrived on everyone’s (literal) radars.

I was struggling to get in touch with family after it knocked out cell towers, worrying about them having power and water, when Milton (sharing a name with my beloved Gramps, for an added surreal touch) came out of nowhere from the western end of the Gulf of Mexico.

Some readers may recall that I evacuated to Tallahassee with a friend for Irma. Having three cats and a house to look after, I had decided not to do so for Milton, figuring I could ride it out with the supplies I had. I hadn’t counted on the fear – not just the terror of hurricane-force winds outside your window, but the nagging worry about when the lights will come back on, whether you’ll be able to get gasoline, if your employer will be able to reopen.

Five days without power isn’t as long as someone people had to wait, but it was far longer than I anticipated.

I relied on friends to get me through, though in fairness I would add that we were helping each other.

My soul is tired, even after I caught up on sleep (you don’t sleep well without power if you’re used to having a fan on, which I learned the hard way this month). Hurricane fatigue is real. So is climate change – the bathtub-warm Gulf of Mexico likely increased the intensity of both hurricanes. And I’m wary, thinking about the long recovery for my beloved Asheville, for those here in Florida who lost everything, for everyone who will live with more extreme weather.

Check in on your friends and loved ones. The winds are picking up.