If you’ve been watching the news and you have had your power restored since Hurricane Irma made her presence felt, you know that we’ve had a crash course in what’s really important down here in Bradenton, Florida.  We’ve experienced every little bit of all of it this week.  After Hurricane Harvey left immeasurable devastation in Texas and some of us didn’t sleep as we waited to hear if the homes of our families and friends would flood there; we got our news and wondered how we could help or we moved on if the news was good.  Sorry for others.  Happy for ourselves.

We then began over a week ago to be concerned about our Atlantic coastal cities; we also worried about the lovely Caribbean islands we treasure.  Soon after we began to invite our loved ones from the East Coast of FLorida to come stay with us to avoid the Irma’s winds and her threatening arrival.

And finally, when she started heading west we realized that WE would feel her wrath.  We gathered batteries and propane and gasoline and made our plans:  Plan A, then B, then C.  Would she turn?  Should we leave?  Cat 5?  Flood Zone A?  Lines for Gasoline.  Pet Carriers.  Rabies Certificates.  Where do they have propane?  Plywood. Plywood. Plywood.

She came at night and battered some more than others.  She took roofs.  She pulled trees out of the ground.  She closed schools.  She scared children.  She displaced families.

We feared what we would see as the day broke.  We had experienced a Cat 2 Hurricane with the hurricane eye passing forty miles to our east.  This placed wind speeds between 96-110 miles per hour.  Over 130,000 power customers were without power in the county.  Trees blocked roads.

The days that followed were different for all; they still are.   Are you back at work?  Did you get a hot shower?  Do you have electricity?  Can I bring you a cup of coffee?

What now?

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No not just for some but for everyone.

Lord, we don’t need another mountain,
There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb
There are oceans and rivers enough to cross,
Enough to last till the end of time.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some but for everyone.

And we have it here.  There is kindness and thoughtfulness all around.  My friend found his twenty-something daughter in the kitchen making an enormous number of sandwiches.   She had decided to drive to a hard-hit area to deliver sandwiches to strangers.  Neighbors have helped trim trees and remove plywood from homes.  Hot coffee arrives unbidden.

The Sixtahs met over at The Shake Pit last night.  It was four days after Irma’s visit.   The Shake Pit is our local ice-cream stand.  It’s owner Debbie is our treasured friend and strong supporter.  Her family has been deeply touched by cancer as well.  That’s Debbie on the left.

Patty starts a new chemo regimen on Tuesday.  We leave on our Mississippi River trip in TWO WEEKS!  The Sixtahs are rolling down The Big Muddy!  Old Blue!  Old Man River!  We finalized plans, and confirmed activities and missed our buddy Jean who wasn’t able to join.

Debbie’s place is like your grandmother’s attic.  You look around and see the history of Bradenton.  It’s a 3-D quilt of memories. The Callaghans (Janey and Patty’s fam) have been in town forever, and they’re part of the fabric.

Patty and Jane pointed out the part of the ceiling that Patty’s son Alex once signed.    They pointed out the picture of Janey’s daughter Sara hanging from a thumbtack.  And Debbie pointed to the picture of the Sixty Sixtahs she placed on the fridge for inspiration:

 

We’re planning another SEND OFF PARTY as we depart for the Mighty Mississip!!

Please join us if you can:

 Tuesday, September 26th

at 5:30 pm at The Shake Pit

3801 Manatee Ave West

Bradenton Florida

while you are there you might want to check out what Jane DIDN’T point out while we were there…sorry Janey…can’t resist…

In the WAY BACK and you have to “know somebody” to see it…is PURE GOLD.  Ask Debbie.  It’s a picture of OUR JANEY when she was the first-ever Manatee County Fair Princess. (1981?)

It may not have been Jane’s dream to be a Fair Princess.    It may have been the kind of pageant where you can’t even imagine that you might be called up to the stage to accept a tiara in shoes that hurt and that you’ve regretted for hours.  In fact Jane quips that she won because she “most closely resembled a manatee!”  But win she did.  And while we hooted and hollered that our Janey got to wear a sash…we loved her all the more!  The apparel committee is in good hands!

 

And Bradenton has been in good hands too.  You can try, but you can’t break us.

Look closely.

Need a sign?

This is the Shake Pit sign that was hit hard this week during Hurricane Irma.  Sure the sign was damaged.

But look closely.  The florescent light bulbs aren’t broken.

 

So we finished our plans for our trip and got excited about the send off party and said our goodbyes to Debbie…

 

 

“I believe that when you’re hugging someone you have to make them feel important and special.  I tend to close my eyes when I hug too, I take in the moment.”   —Patty Virgilio

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Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

Patty V:  “I believe in full body hugs with 2 arms!  I believe that when you’re hugging someone you have to make them feel important and special…I tend to close my eyes when I hug too.  I take in the moment…”