The Plight of the Floridian

Those of you outside of the state may not have realized that this week Tampa faced its first real hurricane threat of the 2008 Hurricane season. Tropical Storm Fay was predicted to become a category 1 or 2 hurricane and make landfall just south of Tampa on Tuesday morning.

Monday night, we were busy making all the necessary preparations-- cleaning the house, filling the tub full of water, storing water jugs and bottles, pulling out the 72 hour kit, checking the batteries in our ever-ready flashlights, and dispersing the flashlights in every room of the house.

For Family Home Evening, we taught Zoie all about hurricanes. We were tuned in to The Weather Channel all night.

School and businesses closed for the day. We were all ready to hunker down and wait... and wait... and wait. Fay never came. She changed her mind and hit the southern/eastern coast as a tropical storm instead. As of 8:30 pm, it has yet to so much as rain.

We are grateful that Tampa was once again spared.

As a geography/history lesson: It has been over 80 years since Tampa has had a direct hit by a hurricane. It has actually snowed in the city more recently than a hurricane has hit. We are so fortunate. Tampa is extremely vulnerable. Although we are protected by the Tampa Bay, if a hurricane was to actually enter the Bay, it would cause untold devastation and flooding.

One theory for the "luck" is that the waters of Tampa Bay is protected by an 18th century pirate named Jose Gaspar. Gaspar is a beloved legend in Tampa. Each year we throw a huge festival in his honor-- Gasparilla Day. A giant pirate ship invades the bay and hundreds of pirates "attack" the city. It is crazy-- but so far, it seems to be working.

Thanks, Mr. Gaspar.