Late last week, as families prepared for the weekend in a typical fashion, packing up shop, getting their beach clothes in order, children asked about what they would do that weekend; little did anyone know the devastation that would wreak havoc in the following days. A depression entering the open water during the busy September tropics first set aim on Cuba. The plans of many of those families vanished as the Sunshine State prepared for what would be a stormy road as it became clear the state would come face to face with a Goliath of a storm. It gained strength over the boiling waters of the open Atlantic Ocean and battered Cuba with ferocity and intensity, destroying what little the Cuban families in its path had. It toppled buildings, destroyed homes, caused catastrophic flooding, and killed innocents in its way. It seemed to do the same to where it would land in our state. The cone of concern shrank, and the indications made it clear that it would strike between the areas of Tampa and Fort Myers. It trekked along at a maddeningly slow 11 miles per hour, gaining ferocity over the open waters of the Gulf with winds nearing 150 miles per hour or a Category 4 storm. The 4th largest and strongest storm in Florida history made its landfall in Cato Costa near Fort Myers on Wednesday the 26th. Its winds blew without mercy or regard for people’s homes, livelihoods, and businesses. Ian ripped off roofs, dismantled bridges, and created life-threatening storm surges that claimed whole neighborhoods to the sea. Nothing left in its wake stood unharmed, and those hit the strongest in many cases; nothing stood at all. The storm continued its trek bartering the coast of South Carolina and moving inland until it finally ceased being a hurricane and moved back into a depression. Now, as families and people are left to pick up the pieces of what the monster destroyed, we, as Americans, must rally behind them and come together to help our people.
Those people, who lost it all in a matter of hours, their homes, their livelihoods, and in some cases, their families, we must come together and show the true nature of our great nation. We, the great American family, must help our own without regard to political affiliations, race, background, or creed. We must walk hand in hand to comfort them, help them and aid them in bringing back what they lost. It is the essence of our nature and our nation. We help, not hurt, we build, not destroy, we hope, not despair. It is time to lay down our partisan arms and bridge together as a people in this crisis as we have done before and must do now. Lay down the political posturing, the partisan debate about who gets what aid, and go marching boots on the ground to help those who need it. Action and assistance are needed now, and we must show those who are hurting and those around the world that our American family can overcome any challenge that comes our way and build back better than before. Thank you,
Daniel
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