One year ago, today, this community changed. A category 5 hurricane barreled down on this town in the afternoon of October 10, 2018, leaving nothing but catastrophic damage in its wake. A year later, we are not normal. We have power, we have water, we have WiFi, we have traffic lights that work. What we don’t have are the roofs to our homes, complete walls, trees in our neighborhood, schools rebuilt, or peace of mind that everything will eventually be fixed. These are just some images of what people walked out into on the afternoon of 10/10/18 following Hurricane Michael. I’ll never forget that night, my best friend, that stayed, called me as he and his brother were out checking on our friends and employees that also stayed. In pitch-black darkness and disoriented from the lack of street signs, landmarks, and the utter chaos of scattered debris, I guided him from 300 miles away using Google Maps to check on people on foot. For two weeks, 7 of my family members huddled in my brother’s living room. His was the only house was either wasn’t damaged beyond recognition or we could actually get to without literally cutting our way through the streets with chain saws. Cell communication and internet service was completely down save for a few spotty AT&T phones. The National Guard was positioned at AT&T stores, gas stations, supply depots, etc. Resources like gas trucks and propane trucks were escorted by Troopers. As I drove back into town from Daytona after the storm, I stopped along the way and bought three Home Depots out of every tarp they had and as many chainsaws as would fit in my car. Lynn Haven, Panama City, Springfield, Callaway, Tyndall AFB, Mexico Beach, Port St. Joe, and all the towns dotted around North Florida are changed forever. The rest of the world has moved on, but we are stuck here, literally rebuilding our lives. Thank you to the literal thousands of linemen, tree trimmers, and first responders from all over the country and even Canada.
