Hurricane Ivan

The projected path of Ivan keeps turning farther and farther north. Now it looks like perhaps another direct hit on Florida--this is insane! I liked a quote from an AP article. It discussed the visitor evacuations from the Keys (now everyone is being evacuated):

The question is where to send the visitors, said Scott Simmons, who owns Islamorada's 178-room Holiday Isle. "They don't know where to go: the east coast, the west coast or to Canada."

At this point the only truly safe place is Canada! It could turn at any time and go anywhere, and it's super strong.



The school board in my county has suggested canceling the big standardized tests for this year because the kids have missed 6 or 7 days of school already due to hurricanes. If Ivan hits on Monday/Tuesday as anticipated, it would be another 2~5 days missed, maybe more depending on the damage. The school board also pointed out the stress to the kids. I don't know about that point. If the kids lost their houses and everything they had, then that would be hard, but I remember hurricanes being really fun as a kid. We got to huddle in the hallway in the dark and use the lanterns and it was all quite exciting! I suppose being without electricity and water for days on end would be stressful, too.

I had been worrying about the economic impact to the state from all of the damage, lost jobs, lost fruit, etc., but I was somewhat relieved to read that construction, roofing, furniture, and other businesses will keep the state growing as people repair/replace damaged property. Hotels are staying busy with people fleeing their homes; Disney and other parks are still there to get back to business once the hurricanes decide to leave the state alone.