Outside my window right now the sun is making its descent beyond the horizon, although you'd be hard pressed to actually see it. Cloud cover is still pretty heavy despite the fact the Emily has come and gone. All that remains are wind and waves but even those are starting to slow their way down. I believe the closest point of approach from the eye came about 83 miles south sometime around 4am. I believe also I was still up at that point.

I went into work about 4:00 in the afternoon. After a meeting with the Cabinet members and various other politicians there was an NHC meeting. The night just continued moving rapidly from then on, although nothing much really happened. I helped set up some of the area and did general office duties so that the committee members would have places to stay and work should it be needed. Although we knew it would pass south of us though the feeling was still of nervousness as it would not be too far south and it wouldn't take that much for it to jog north and really cause an event to occur.
The EOC was crowded, with everyone from radio operator volunteers to a reporter from the AP. As the night would continue phone calls would come in from most major US news networks. I found myself busy making ID badges for everyone, a menial task that was only made enjoyable by the constant setbacks we had. Some stories were shared from previous storms and small talk was attempted, all this was just a part of the waiting. Sitting there around through the beautiful sunset, watching the wind slowly pick up through the night but stay overall calm, it was just a unique moment. Everyone poised for the anticipation of what might occur. At home we're used to thunderstorms or tornadoes sparking up and causing damage in the blink of an eye and then being over as soon as they appeared, but here we just sat and waited. We knew what hours the wind should start, we knew what hours it should be gone by, but you just never know anything really. It's just the nature of the game, pun intended. So the waiting ensued, and I was reminded of Bogarts' movie 'Key Largo' from which that above quote comes from, and how I could really more fully aspects of that film. Fortunately enough I wasn't trapped indoors with a blacklisted homicidal mobster, just government employees.

Still our storm was nowhere near the brunt of the one in that film, but it easily could have been. Updates came every couple of hours from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, and when the 1am report came in everyone let out a sigh of relief. Emily had took a jog to the south, and we were going to be spared even more so. So those who hadn't already began to stake a claim to a chair or some floor space and try and get a little shut eye. I turned on my mp3 player and pulled up a little Tom Petty and Jimmy Buffett and commenced to close my eyes. This pattern would continue until about 4, with interruptions to make more ID badges, take a look outside, and share some stories, although I mainly just listened. That's actually most of what I do in life, just watch and listen.
There was an island-wide curfew placed from 11p-11a, although with the storm sparing us it was lifted a little earlier this morning. The EOC shut down, the all clear was given at 9, and everyone who hadn't already made their way home. The fire chief gave me a ride back and on our way we really didn't see too much damage; some gathered rainwater here, a few downed branches there. The surf was nice, I estimate 9-12 foot. But the roads were still pretty empty as curfew had yet to be lifted, and so it was like just had to share the island with a few dozen others, which was awesome. All in all it was just tropical storm force winds, and while some places got more rain than others nowhere really flooded to badly. Water was cut off but power remained on for most everyone. When she passed us Emily was a Category 4, and we can just thank God it wasn't a direct hit.
When I got home the waves looked incredible. My grandparents said it was worse throughout the night, but I still thought they were impressive. I slept for a few hours, although you know how it goes when you miss a night’s sleep. Right before I started writing this, when it was still light out, I walked down to the wall and looked out at the ocean, at the brilliant waves and let the wind just blow salt spray all over me. It was one of the most beautiful experiences I had ever felt. The realization that nature can be so beautiful and so scary at the same time is something else. It makes one take pause and focus on who She is, and reminds us that we are not alone on this planet. It was not created just for humans to live on (and take over). We share it with every living thing out there, and we should never forget that.

¶ 7/17/2005 09:05:00 PM