grvdigr
New member
Normally the Daytona show is something Anna and I look forward to every year. We were so excited about the show this year because we had so much fun in 2003. Unfortunately Charley had different plans. When we left on Thursday for Daytona they were still projecting Charley to hit the Tampa area first. We were concerned, but Charlotte County’s track record with Hurricanes was pretty good at the time. Friday morning the reports began to change, they now started evacuating Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda. My Ex-wife evacuated with my daughter (Brandi) around 8am and she would contact me when they reached a safe place. My Dad was home alone but my neighbor made sure he was safe. Friday during set up was like waiting for a bomb to drop on top of your head. Everyone from Charlotte County kept their cell phones close to hear any news. Then late afternoon the phones began to ring the hurricane went from a two as expected but quickly climbed to a four. I think we all collectively held our breaths’ waiting for it to pass. After a few hours the phones rang again, it all seemed to be bad news. Some were luckier than others. Going home did not seem like an option since our way home was the way Charley was traveling. When we went back to the hotel I frantically tried to find out word of my daughter, I had spoken to my Dad and knew he was all right. Around 11:00pm we were able to reach my daughter’s grandmother in Georgia and she said that she had heard from them and they were safe. I finally got to talk to Brandi around 11:30pm. Hearing her voice is a lot better than someone just telling you she is OK. Needless to say I did not get a wink of sleep since Charley decided to visit us in Daytona as well. We lost power in the hotel and the wind and rain was intense. You could hear trees behind the hotel snapping in half. We knew that if the Category 1 was this bad; things were really bad back home.
Saturday the mood at the show was gloomy at best, everyone from our area traded the horror stories of what they heard about their homes. Some friends from North Port came up to the show and they tried to explain what devastation was in our town. The majority of vendors from our area left on Saturday afternoon to assess their damages. We decided to stay through Sunday, we wanted to pick up as much supplies in Daytona as we could and we knew getting back home on Saturday would be unbearable. We also wanted to bring back as much cash as possible with us, not knowing what the bank situation would be. You could see the crowd was not near what it normally is. We constantly debated whether we should leave Sunday morning or Sunday afternoon. We opted to leave Sunday afternoon, my uncle in Ocala was going to try to get us a generator and we would pick it up on the way home.
Walking into the show on Sunday and seeing all the empty tables of those who never made it or left early left a pit in your stomach. We tried to be pleasant to those patrons who showed up but Charley was all anyone could talk about. A lot of patrons and vendors came by to make sure we were OK and to see how bad our situation was. I guess once the word got out that we needed cash to bring back home and that we were going to try and wholesale as much as we could. Vendors and wholesalers who really didn’t need any more animals came by and bought from me anyway. I’d like to thank those vendors for not taking advantage of the situation. Unfortunately there were one or two who did take advantage I will not mention names, but they know who they are and they have to live with the knowledge of what goes around comes around. My uncle was unable to get the generator for us. But, Rich and Connie from Serpenco offered their generator up if we couldn’t find one. As it turned out we didn’t need it, but to know it was there if we did was quite a load of my mind. Thank you both. Another person I must thank is Deon from Ben Siegel Reptiles. Deon’s nephew is the Manager at the Home Depot in Port Charlotte. Deon contacted his nephew Don and asked him to put aside a generator for us to pick up that evening when we got back into town. When we finally did make it back and made our way to Home Depot, they were closed but Don sat there and waited until we showed up, we actually got two because we knew Steve Roylance was not able to get one. Deon and Don we definitely owe you one. Because I had a generator I was able to have my daughter home with me that night.
Fortunately for us, none of our animals were in our home at the time of the hurricane. The room they used to be in was totally destroyed. But, where they currently are was not touched. We have extensive water damage and our house will most likely need to be gutted. It will be a long time before things resemble normal but I just wanted to thank everyone who supported us through this ordeal.
Thank you,
Jim Keenan
Anna Strate
Saturday the mood at the show was gloomy at best, everyone from our area traded the horror stories of what they heard about their homes. Some friends from North Port came up to the show and they tried to explain what devastation was in our town. The majority of vendors from our area left on Saturday afternoon to assess their damages. We decided to stay through Sunday, we wanted to pick up as much supplies in Daytona as we could and we knew getting back home on Saturday would be unbearable. We also wanted to bring back as much cash as possible with us, not knowing what the bank situation would be. You could see the crowd was not near what it normally is. We constantly debated whether we should leave Sunday morning or Sunday afternoon. We opted to leave Sunday afternoon, my uncle in Ocala was going to try to get us a generator and we would pick it up on the way home.
Walking into the show on Sunday and seeing all the empty tables of those who never made it or left early left a pit in your stomach. We tried to be pleasant to those patrons who showed up but Charley was all anyone could talk about. A lot of patrons and vendors came by to make sure we were OK and to see how bad our situation was. I guess once the word got out that we needed cash to bring back home and that we were going to try and wholesale as much as we could. Vendors and wholesalers who really didn’t need any more animals came by and bought from me anyway. I’d like to thank those vendors for not taking advantage of the situation. Unfortunately there were one or two who did take advantage I will not mention names, but they know who they are and they have to live with the knowledge of what goes around comes around. My uncle was unable to get the generator for us. But, Rich and Connie from Serpenco offered their generator up if we couldn’t find one. As it turned out we didn’t need it, but to know it was there if we did was quite a load of my mind. Thank you both. Another person I must thank is Deon from Ben Siegel Reptiles. Deon’s nephew is the Manager at the Home Depot in Port Charlotte. Deon contacted his nephew Don and asked him to put aside a generator for us to pick up that evening when we got back into town. When we finally did make it back and made our way to Home Depot, they were closed but Don sat there and waited until we showed up, we actually got two because we knew Steve Roylance was not able to get one. Deon and Don we definitely owe you one. Because I had a generator I was able to have my daughter home with me that night.
Fortunately for us, none of our animals were in our home at the time of the hurricane. The room they used to be in was totally destroyed. But, where they currently are was not touched. We have extensive water damage and our house will most likely need to be gutted. It will be a long time before things resemble normal but I just wanted to thank everyone who supported us through this ordeal.
Thank you,
Jim Keenan
Anna Strate