... offspring is, in high winds, a potential bomb. So when the Weather Channel tells me five days in advance that a tropical depression named Charley somewhere down around St. Kitts is on track to arrive in my hometown, I do take notice. We in South Florida were more than adequately warned that a major disaster could befall us on Friday the 13th. The forecasters were soothsayers, in this instance. Trouble is, everybody in this neighborhood has been lulled into a false sense of security. Hurricanes never come here. They sometimes fake like they're going to, but always veer off or vaporize before they actually hit. Many people suspect some kind of geomagnetic magic protects this region from harm. It was probably this kind of thinking that cost a good many people their lives in Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte on this savage Friday the 13th, August 2004. I've experienced numerous hurricanes, as a child in ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now