Poor me.
I live in Tampa and my husband and I were away celebrating our son’s 50th birthday in the New York area when Hurricane Ian barreled into Florida – headed straight for Tampa.
Poor me.
Lucky for us, Tampa was spared, but Ft. Myers and all neighboring locales took a massive hit.
We couldn’t get a flight back until the Sunday following Ian’s landfall.
I flew back suffering with a giant sinus infection – weighed in at 3 pounds heavier than when I had left and couldn’t access my irisruthpastor.com website because I had inadvertently let the domain name expire.
Poor me.
We pulled up to our house.
Our lawn was filled with debris
Our patio was covered with broken branches, twigs and pieces of cracked flower pots
Remnants of a nearby huge old palm tree had literally cracked in half and had found a convenient resting place on our roof
All our outdoor furniture (remember, we live in Florida – we do lots of living outdoors) had been piled in our family room and living room thanks to one of our sons’ foresight.
Ditto for the various valuables normally on the first floor, which were now on the second floor for safe keeping, and needing to be dragged down a steep, windy staircase to the first floor and put back in place.
The house was still standing, but as my son reminded me, the high winds made the windows rattle in a very creepy way during the height of the storm.
I was in a bad mood.
Poor me.
The next day, we called our lawn people, who said they couldn’t come clean the debris for a few days. Ditto for the gutter people. Ditto for our handyman. Ditto for our cleaning service.
My carefully tended house plants were either dead, over-watered or totally dried out. And the carefully curated plaques hanging on our front porch were sporting mold.
Poor, poor me.
Meanwhile….
Hurricane ravaged counties in Florida are without clean water. Where there is limited water, residents ask: Drink it or clean with it?
Many are down to a dwindling gas tank and they’re almost out of food. Do they stay put or go ravaging for supplies?
Water pressure is completely inadequate.
Homes are not livable. Boats are in ruins. Cars and pick-up trucks are submerged. Alligators are roaming around and snakes are all over the place.
It’s an apocalyptic scene.
Businesses have been wiped out. Bridges destroyed – cutting off communities that are now only accessible by boat or aircraft.
Power may not be restored for 30 days.
And the death toll continues to rise – with many still missing.
Poor me.
Coming back to an intact city, neighborhood, street and home –
with all those I love, like, and do business with “safe and sound.”
As I finish composing this column, I’m sitting on my back porch, overlooking my beautiful, but very disheveled, back yard, with power fully restored. The grand oaks lining my property are still standing tall and my house shows little signs of storm damage.
This afternoon, I’m dropping off bottles of water, toiletries, bedding, non-perishable food items, and garbage bags to a donation center to help those hit hardest by Hurricane Ian.
This afternoon, I’m calling to get quotes on installing hurricane impact windows or storm shutters.
And this afternoon, I’m also overhauling my gratitude meter to reflect reality.
“Gratitude is an antidote to negative emotions, a
neutralizer of envy, hostility, worry, and irritation.
It is savoring; it is not taking things for granted; it is present-oriented.”
– Sonja Lyubomirsky
Keep Preserving Your Bloom,
Iris Ruth Pastor
PS For those of you who live in the Tampa area, my son Harry Cohen is running for re-election for Hillsborough County Commissioner. He was just endorsed by The Tampa Bay Times.
DISTRICT 1 (WEST COUNTY): HARRY COHEN, DEMOCRAT
The incumbent, Democrat Harry Cohen, has demonstrated time and again an unfailing commitment to serve his community with distinction. His experience, judgment and integrity warrant him another term.
Cohen, a 52-year-old Tampa attorney, was first elected to the county commission in 2020 after serving eight years on the Tampa City Council. In both posts, he has been a strong advocate for smart growth, transportation improvements and investing in the core infrastructure that makes communities tick.
Cohen supports the transportation referendum on Hillsborough’s general election ballot, calling it “the best chance” for improving commutes and pedestrian safety in the years ahead. He understands that managing growth is key to protecting Hillsborough’s competitiveness and quality of life. Cohen supports resiliency efforts to better protect people and property from coastal flooding. While he supports some tax incentives for businesses, Cohen says they must be limited in scope and targeted to “concrete” goals.
Republican Scott D. Levinson lost this race to Cohen in 2020 by a slim, 51-49 margin. Levinson, 57, a longtime wholesale food distributor, opposes the transportation tax referendum, saying the county needs to prioritize its spending rather than raise new revenues. Levinson supports environmental efforts, regional cooperation and a balanced approach to job incentives. He is a moderate who believes that government would be better served by having people from more varied walks of life.
Cohen, though, brings an unusual combination of competence, creativity and levelheadedness to county government. He is widely respected for his collegial approach to problem-solving and the responsiveness he provides his constituents.
For Hillsborough County Commission District 1, the Tampa Bay Times recommends Harry Cohen.