Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was in the devastated town of Fort Myers Beach today to deliver an update on the aftermath from Hurrican Ian.  Incredibly we are ten days post storm while search teams are still conducting operations to locate and recover bodies.  The collapsed and unstable buildings are very challenging and rescue workers are almost always kept out of unstable buildings.  {Direct Rumble Link}

Fort Myers beach is about 7 miles long (+/-) and about a half to three-quarters of a mile wide (average), a large percentage of the compacted homes have still not been searched.  It’s not the distance of the damage taking time to search, it’s the actual scale of the damage in this zone.  So many structures collapsed and flooded with storm surge.  WATCH (remarks begin at 7:15 of video):

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[Florida Gov]  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis traveled to Fort Myers Beach to give updates on recovery efforts in areas that have been impacted by Hurricane Ian. Floridians continue to show resiliency through communities coming together to help each other. Full remarks can be found here.

Governor DeSantis was joined by local officials to announce that access has been cleared for residents to return to Fort Myers Beach. Portable showers and restrooms were brought in for residents to use while the clean their homes. Governor DeSantis was also joined by Eric Silagy, CEO of Florida Power and Light (FPL) to give an update on the progress they have made in restoring power to their customers. FPL has already restored power to 99% of the households they cover in Lee County and Southwest Florida that can receive power.

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There is a particular texture and smell familiar to those who have trekked through saltwater marshes.  In ordinary times the moment when the greyish matter takes custody of your shoe, you quickly ponder whether to stick your hand into it or just buy another pair of sandals and move on… often it’s the latter.

The sand, sediment, dirt and decomposing nature -to include fish bits and wildlife food sources- creates a blended muck and grows slowly over years.  The moist muck does not like to be disturbed.  It has a very particular smell when it is disturbed, until it dries, almost like a natural defense mechanism.  Hurricane Ian disturbed the backwater shoreline inland and introduced that sludge mix to places it was never before, like inside buildings.  Thankfully it is drying out now.

The officials in charge of Fort Myers Beach have determined that almost every structure on the island is unsafe after the storm pushed a massive surge of water onto the island while the wind destroyed the buildings.  Residents are being carefully managed and kept away from areas where search crews are still looking through rubble.

A plan for a limited number of residents to be bussed into one part of the area to look for belongings has been released [link].  Beach officials are calling it, “debris management and the effort to locate our friends and loved ones.”  It is now a full ten days later, and no one wants to use the real words, ‘dead people.’   I think about Ms Veronica being so clear and true in her point a few days ago, “there are dead people and there are survivors.”

Further north and to the west on Pine Island there are lots of survivors.  With the temporary road giving access, there are lots of people picking up bits, fragments, and other important stuff that holds their memories; each bit revisited in the handling of it, many bits thought about tenderly for the first time in decades.   Fragmented bits hold memories, and those memories are exactly what make up the invisible links of our lives.

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It was a week ago Wednesday, around 1:00pm, when Hurricane Ian first approached the coast of southwest Florida.  In the aftermath, once again the coastal topography has changed.

Incredibly, rescue workers are still going through rubble on Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, Pine Island and Matlacha while recovery operations continue in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Arcadia, Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte.  Approximately 50% of Lee and Desoto counties are still without power and water.

The closer to the SWFL coast, the more devastating the infrastructure is damaged.  However, the inland areas were also heavily impacted by wind damage and historic flooding.  Hurricane Ian left a wide swath of chaos in his slow and sizeable wake.

On a positive note, there are fewer helicopter flights crisscrossing overhead, which would indicate most of the barrier islands have been searched and residents rescued in one of the largest air mobilizations in Florida hurricane history.  The flights seem more focused on delivering personnel, equipment and supplies for recovery efforts.

The rednecks and roughnecks also delivered a remarkable accomplishment today, opening a temporary bridge to Pine Island.   A few days before Governor Ron DeSantis announced the State DOT effort to help build the temporary bridge, locals from Honc Marine were already in ‘git r done‘ mode.

Incredibly a week after Hurricane Ian took out the bridge connecting Pine Island to Cape Coral, the temporary bridge was finished and five semi tractors/trailers from Publix Supermarket were first to cross into Pine Island with relief supplies. {Direct Rumble Link}  WATCH:

Matlacha, the small area between Cape Coral and Pine Island that encompassed the bridge, has been devastated.  However, the ability to drive into (and out of) Pine Island is a major cause for celebration amid the blue-collar working-class community.

Pine Islanders are known for their grit and independence.  The devastation on the island is large from Saint James City (south) all the way to Bokeelia (north), but these are hardworking and industrious people. They will rebuild and restore their community street by street, and the bridge will speed up that process.  An exceptional outcome in only a week.  Many joyful tears flowing.

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The economic data coming in the past week is in alignment with prior forecasts.  Bottom line, energy driven inflation has collapsed consumer spending, inventories climbing, vendors are cancelling orders, and this is peak season for transpacific shipping- which has now recorded the most rapid drop in history.

A single transpacific container shipment cost $19,000 in 2021, then $14,500 in 2022 as the intentional slowdown began.  Now it’s only $3,900 as entire fleets of cargo shipments are cancelled due to lack of demand by U.S. purchasers.

Folks, get ready…. because it’s not going to get better.  Prior farm costs, an outcome of energy price increases, are now reaching the supply chain. Food costs will continue increasing throughout the holiday season.

(Wall Street Journal) […] Trans-Pacific shipping rates have plummeted roughly 75% from year-ago levels. The transportation industry is grappling with weaker demand as big retailers cancel orders with vendors and step up efforts to cut inventories. FedEx Corp. recently said it would cancel flights and park cargo planes because of a sharp drop in shipping volumes. On Thursday, Nike Inc. said it was sitting on 65% more inventory in North America than a year earlier and would resort to markdowns.

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The only thing I can do is research and write about it.  With an even stronger degree of certainty than originally expressed, and with all of the subsequent data points falling into alignment with the initial suspicions, the background of Jack’s Magic Coffee shop remains unchanged. {Go Deep}

Six weeks ago, the Twitter security ‘whistleblower’ came forward to congress.  The whistleblower is a former technology expert who came from within the research farm of DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.  Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, is a well-known cybersecurity expert who left government work, entered the public world, and eventually became the head of Twitter security, reporting directly to the CEO. {Go Deep}

According to a recent SEC filing [LINK HERE], Elon Musk is now back to supporting the purchase of Twitter as the first step in creating the “everything app.”

{{{sarcastic voice}}} Gee, what could this be about?  I mean what could go wrong?….  We already know the infrastructure of Twitter’s operational database is tied into portals with the Dept of Homeland security {citation}, and now Musk wants to use that central infrastructure to create an all-inclusive “everything app”?

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Ms. Veronica, an incredibly wise and multigenerational counsellor of souls.

Ms. Veronica is a lady of impeccable generosity, identified not simply by the hospitality and greeting, but also by the few moments of grace deserved and afforded in polite request to make herself more ‘presentable‘ for unexpected company.

Upon return, Ms Veronica immediately became Vera, a woman, widow, great grandma and neighbor who may not have enough, but she’d give a stranger half – and they would never know.

This is a powerful woman filled with a message. “Hurricane Ian did not create victims,” she immediately captured my full and undivided attention.   She continued, “I am not a victim.”

“There are dead people, and there are survivors.”

Long pause.  The depth of her eyes, intense.

I am wise enough to notice moments when my prior opinion of self, strength and fortitude are immediately being redefined. I am also smart enough to stay silent.

“Our loving God does not create victims, and apparently he is not finished using me.”  Veronica’s eyes now alight. “In this moment I am filled with rejoicing,” she said, “because I know there is a purpose I have yet to fulfill.”  From me, more smart silence.  “How incredible is it for me at 90 to realize there’s more use, more purpose, and more time,” she concluded.

Then, just as casual as one might order a familiar coffee on any ordinary Tuesday, Vera asked…. “How is it I can help you boys?“…

There are rare moments in life when we say the right thing.  For me today was one of those moments. My reply was simply, “I think you just did.”

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Fortunate is a word often accompanied with thankfulness; the complicated conversations always begin with both.  We are blessed, fortunate and thankful. Personally, I have tried to avoid the complicated conversations, choosing instead to throw the starfish back into the water one at a time.

According to most, hurricane recovery and restoration is complicated business. They are likely correct; however, I do not see a broom, mop, screw gun or sandwich delivered as complicated business, so y’all are not going to read analytics of the complex from me.   Instead, the focus is on seeing a person with a problem and tackling it in a way to make their situation just a little bit better.

I’ve watched ants move rocks because rocks needed to be moved.  The task did not seem complex, the only variable seemed to be the number of ants needed.  I doubt they used extras. The ants somehow knew exactly how many of them were needed for the task and modified their assembly based on the terrain.  If you watch closely, the ants keep arriving until exactly the rock moving number of ants are on task – and they move the rock.

Perhaps it is a complicated process for ants to move rocks.  Is there a boardroom of ants, with ant planning and zoning?  Or does one ant just start pushing on the obstacle and the other ants join in.  I think the latter is more likely.

Need gasoline, we can get it.  Need the road cleared, we got that too. We can make a sandwich, deliver fuel, saw, sweep, mop, scrub, clean and/or make just that little space closer to the normal of memory.  It is entirely possible to replace a missing downspout, and it is entirely possible to provide an uncomplicated ear to listen. Both tasks are equally important during recovery because both outcomes reduce burdens.

Day 5 finds more ants arriving in the western impact zone of Hurricane Ian.  Here’s the rock:

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Shortly before sunset this evening, as the search and rescue missions continue throughout the western impact zone, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference in Cape Coral to provide the latest updates and new information for the people in Southwest Florida (SWFL).   Toplines:

♦ Cape Coral, Pine Island and Sanibel only have 3% power restoration.  Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC) is overwhelmed and refusing to pay the mutual aid costs for assistance. LCEC is making people suffer.  The Florida Governor has seen enough. The state is stepping in.

♦ Effective tomorrow, up to 3,500 personnel from Duke Energy are being redeployed into Cape Coral and Lee County, the State of Florida will pick up the bill for the mutual aid payments LCEC is unwilling to support.  As a result, the power restoration timeline for Cape Coral is now moved from October 23rd to October 8th.

♦ Effective tomorrow, 50 generators from the Florida Dept of Emergency Management are being moved into Cape Coral to service water and sewer issues created by LCEC unwillingness to restore power.  Lift stations will be powered by state generators until Duke Energy personnel take control and do the work LCEC is unwilling to do.

♦ Effective tomorrow, The Florida Dept of Transportation and the Florida Army Corp of Engineers will begin rebuilding an interim bridge for Pine Island Road access.  A temporary bridge is expected to be completed by the end of the week, allowing Pine Island residents to cross into the mainland.  Lee County can then figure out a permanent solution.

♦ Effective immediately, the Florida Dept of Transportation will begin a parallel operation with Lee County Transportation to outline a temporary bridge and transit system to reconnect access to Sanibel Island from Punta Rassa (South Fort Myers).  Governor Ron DeSantis said there’s no reason to wait a year for a permanent fix to begin.  The state will pick up the tab for a temporary bridge system, as Lee County begins the process of figuring out what to do.

♦ The Florida National Guard will begin airlifting utility crews into Sanibel and Captiva Islands to begin restoration assessments.

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All good decisions by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

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I am going to start the Day 4 update with the golden words from dear Sharon, who eloquently writes:

“…..the holding pattern for tens of thousands…..”

“That’s just one thread in the word pictures presented by Sundance–a thread that is sort of a knothole in the fence…. and looking through it, there are details to be seen….confusion, uncertainty, counting the cash in one’s pocket (again), checking (again) for any possible cell phone coverage, glancing over to the neighbor who hasn’t taken a break for several hours (perhaps for fear that if they sit down, they won’t be able to get back up again)…. men at work with chainsaws…. women returning to what remains of the house to dig through the kitchen or the bathroom cupboards in search of some more, still usable everyday things….

And, …  this is an open-ended transition. Length uncertain. Ultimate destination uncertain. How to get there–mostly undetermined at this point.

In terms of individual lives, places to live, jobs/careers…. most of them probably don’t know for sure, yet, whether they are on an onramp or an offramp.

Sometimes I wonder if reaction to such events from a distance clouds the reality that those who are living it have no capacity to step away from it, not even for a moment. The lines on the field have been obliterated and none who are living this can be completely sure of how far away the goal line is.”

Perfectly and succinctly stated.

Day 4, is exactly like all day fours I have experienced before this one.  The autonomic response starts to give way to adrenalin exhaustion and human batteries need to be recharged.  Day four is also when internal callouses become valuable.

For some a quick “stay focused on ‘the task at hand‘” can suffice.  For others it’s, ‘go home to your family – take a break – see you the day after tomorrow‘.

When you build internal callouses you train yourself not to look at the miles, you look at the two to four feet in front of you.  Look up and you will allow the whisper of despondency to creep in. Stay focused on the 2-to-4-foot task at hand and your brain remains wired in a manageable condition.

Steady, we fill that 20 or 40-yard container, then go eat. Reengage, clear the path, fill another 20-yard and then move… Always forward.  If you start calculating the time it will take to clear and fill 4,768 40-yard containers the gremlins will whisper in your ear all day and wear you down.

Ignore the gremlins.

Instead, listen to the faces – hear their stories, then keep going to the next set of faces…. Always forward.

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During his weekly monologue Neil Oliver turns his attention to the “Big Club,” the bankers.  WATCH:

[Transcript] – I want to tell you a story about money. To be more specific I want to tell you where money comes from. The truth, of which most people are unaware, is that money is created out of thin air. Furthermore, every single pound, dollar, euro, yen and all the rest is created out of thin air by unelected, unaccountable private business people who conduct their meetings in total secrecy and profit always from their actions.

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