My Most Prized Possessions

[voodidit]

MY MOST PRIZED POSSESSIONS
by Sherry Churchill

     Just as the rest of Florida was recovering from Charley and
Frances,
Hurricane Ivan was already a strong Category IV storm churning in the
Gulf
of Mexico.
     When my husband, Larry, looked at me gravely and said, "We need to
evacuate," I was stunned.
     Our house is 500 feet from Perdido Bay, which divides Florida from
Alabama.  It seemed surreal, as if we had stepped into a sci-fi movie
set.
I resented having to uproot our two kitties.  Princess was nearly 17
with
health problems and Ling was a 7 year old Siamese recent adoptee who
was
already afraid of everything.
     We managed to find a hotel north of town that took pets, so we
went
there.  The hotel was brick, but an older building, and we were on the
top
floor with an outside entry.  Princess calmly curled up in a corner to
sleep, while Ling, crouched under the bed, wide-eyed and unblinking.
     Our power went out around 10pm.  By 1:30am, we were in the height
of
the storm.  We started noticing numerous leaks in the ceiling and did
what
we could to catch the falling water.  I pointed out a couple puckers in
the
wall, but we overlooked the implications.  Exhausted, I laid down and
was
almost asleep when Larry yelled, "Run!! Run!!"  He yanked me off the
bed in
time to escape the entire ceiling caving in!  I was hit with debris,
but
not hurt.
     Suddenly, I screamed, "My kitties?  Where are my kitties?"
     Larry began grabbing and throwing the pieces of ceiling,
insulation
and plaster that was covering the bed to get to our kittens.  He yanked
back the mattress and grabbed Princess and Ling who were both
terrified.  I
shoved them into their carriers and we huddled in the 3x5 bathroom,
watching what was left of the roof shake with every vicious gust.
     The wind was terrifying.  We both were sure we were going to die.
There was debris flying everywhere outside and over 100 mile an hour
sustained winds.  The fury of it seemed like pure, angry evil.
     After two hours of sitting in the tiny bathroom, I let the cats
out to
get some water and use the litter box.  Instead, a terrified Ling
climbed
through a hole under the sink and down into the wall.  I saw her just
in
time to grab the last three inches of her tail and haul her out, while
sobbing, "No Ling!  Come back!"
     Around 5:30am, with the wind still furiously whipping, hotel staff
rescued us and helped us to the lobby, where most of the guests were
gathering with pillows, blankets, dogs and children.
     After a couple hours, Larry went back to the room to locate a few
items and take them to our vehicles.  Ling, by now, was really restless
in
her crate and turned several somersaults, while whining and growling
and
ripping up her fuzzy bed.  She looked like a cartoon character, with
white
fuzz all over her face.  I couldn't tell if she was mad or deliberately
being comical.  She made me laugh, but I was so grateful she was alive.
Princess actually went to sleep in her carrier and seemed not the least
bit
nervous.
     We were finally able to drive home on Friday.  Despite the
catastrophic damage all around us, our house stood with hardly any
damage
at all.
     In the following weeks, I realized I could not begin to list the
things and people whom we are both so very grateful for.
     The kitties now act like nothing happened, except that Ling seems
to
have lost much of her irrational fears.  Even if we had lost
everything, as
many did, my most prized possessions are sitting next to me, purring.

             -- Sherry Churchill   <lshill @ cox.net>

[Ellise]

Oh the power of furr-babies!

[guest2]

My family and pets would be the first things that I would grab if I had to evacuate.

[QuilterMom]

I completely understand! Our humane society branches are overflowing with animals right now because people who evacuated dropped them off and never came back for them (I suppose some lost their homes, some did not and just dont' want the animals anymore, etc.). Most of them will end up being put to sleep. We evacuated for Frances and took our babies. We stayed for Jeanne and had them hunkered down in the bathroom and hallway with us.