I grew up in Florida and I experienced some of what it was like to live through hurricanes here.
In the 1960s, I was growing up in Key West, the son of a Naval officer. It was a time when preparing for hurricanes was a serious undertaking unlike some of those of today. Back then we didn’t have a lot of the opportunity for preparation that we have today. Key West’s water was provided by a water line that ran parallel US 1, the highway linking the island and keys to mainland Florida. An image recently on the front page article of my local newspaper attested to the potential impact of these storms. The picture showed the broken water line that served as the island chains water supply. That supply of water was often interrupted during hurricanes.
I recall actually times when we had to use the water we had filled our bathtub with during hurricanes because the water line had been broken. We cooked meals over candles and Sterno burners for days while power lines to the Keys were being repaired.
During the storm, we slept on our bed mattresses in the middle of the house listening to the winds rattling the storm shutters on our classic Key West house. I remember those nights lying awake while the wind howled outside.
My father took me out once it was safe to drive around and view the aftermath of the storms. I remember seeing huge trees uprooted, seaweed hanging from power lines along the beach, a yacht stranded in the median of US 1 north of the island, mere foundations remaining of houses along Big Pine Key, and the image of a tanker washed ashore in the newspaper.
All of these images brought home to me the stark reality of the relics that dotted the coastal highway from Flagler’s railroad. There was one particular spot along the roadway where I would see the eerie spectator of rails sticking up out of the water. I learned from experience that living in Florida came with the necessary need to learn how to adapt to its uniqueness.
We lived understanding that we had to expect weather and climate change that required seasonal flexibility. Life had rhythm and cycles different from a lot of other places. You had to learn to live with it if you hoped to live through it. That mindset seemed to change with the widespread introduction of air conditioning. Air conditioning allowed us to escape from the humidity and heat that for ages ruled the ebb and flow of living here in Florida. The comforting convenience falsely made us think that we were free of the dictates of nature. We moved to change the Florida that was into an image of Florida we wanted to believe we could create. In the end though we have been periodically reminded by storms like Donna, Andrew, and Erma of how fragile and minuscule our mark on this land can be.
Author Larry French is a Floridian and living history reenactor. He served as Executive Director of the West Volusia Historical Society and provides historical narration for Great Tasting Tours of DeLand. He is the author of, Grand Hotels of West Volusia County, by Arcadia Publishers. Grand Hotels of West Volusia County was written to increase awareness of the areas’ past and relevant surviving landmarks. Find more on his writing and presentations at, http://www.larryfrenchhistoricalnovelist.com/ .
Life Outside The Window 