Tropical Depression
6 families hunker down together for Hurricane Milton
We survived. A hodge-podge troop of hurricane hanger-on’s and our heroes my brother & sister-in-law, Brannon & Anita Kirk.
If you build it (on higher ground), they will come
My brother & sister-in-law offered up their home to five other families, 23 people in total, ages ranging from 3 mos to 80 years. But it wasn’t just people. People have pets and pets had the barn to call home. Giving off Noah’s Arc vibes, barn roll-call included:
2 Skittish Cats,
5 Restless Dogs,
2 Mini-Horses,
6 Dishevelled Ducks, and
1 Molting Snake, (the only pet upgraded to first class, in-doors status)
Thank you letter to our favorite den leaders
What brought this varied group together? The Scouts Troop infrastructure and the tireless giving heart and soul of Brannon & Anita: den co-leaders, kid wranglers, patient parents and parent fill-ins. They work together with a bunch of parents to organize the weekly meetings, camping trips, popcorn fundraisers, giving Punta Gorda kids of all backgrounds opportunities to learn, grow, and experience more from life. They give and give and give and give and on this Hurricane eve they gave their home so others could flee unknown nightmares coming in the low-lying mandatory evacuation zones.
Who was I in this ensemble piece? The documentarian, the writer in the corner, the TV storm watcher, the hot dog eater, the nice, polite guy with impeccable timing, that moved from bedroom to memory foam, to kid-sized mattress, back to memory foam, making way for the larger families with cribs and such. I was just passing through and about to leave, flying in from Iowa after a year and a half crisscrossing from Australia to Philippines to New Zealand to Hawaii to Guatemala to CA to MN to IA, visiting family and experiencing all that’s out there. But what I found here was the love and care and hard work of families helping those hit hard by multiple hurricanes. This time they didn’t have to struggle through tragedy and depressing times alone. Thanks Brannon & Anita for all you do and all you give.
