Entertain Charley

Choosing Not to Entertain Charley
By Kim Newsome

The memory of those first few moments upon awakening Saturday, August 14, is unforgettable. Most likely it was the heat that woke me early that morning and for the next several days that we did not have power while the temperatures were reaching 104 that week. As my mind began to race with thoughts, emotions and ideas of the events of the past 36 hours I wanted to get to the computer and begin writing. But besides the fact that we could not even turn on a fan much less a computer, I knew that it was time to get up and start moving.

There was so much to do. So many people who needed help and many friends and family to check on to see if they were alright, where they stayed out the storm and the conditions of their homes and businesses. We’d already seen quite a bit of the main streets in Port Charlotte the night before as we arrived back into town behind the storm and checked on four of our homes, so most of that day was spent going into Venice and Sarasota through Englewood twice looking for places to get ice, gas and camping supplies. The next morning 12 of us met at George and Karen’s home in Englewood (their power was already back on) to have church, dinner and then make plans on how we could help our families and friends. Chain saws, gas, work gloves, drinks, snacks and other essentials were purchased in Sarasota and we started the following morning.

Over the next several days while traveling through Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda we saw the traffic get heavier each moment as the emergency crews and help began to flood the streets. We found that gas and ice were the daily needs that required time spent in line! One day two of our loaded vans inched our way for half and hour to an ice station for free ice. On another day we were blessed to have Karen & George bring coolers of ice in from Venice and meet us before heading out to cut trees and remove debris from a friend’s home in Punta Gorda where he couldn’t even get into the driveway.