Hurricane Andrew: Twenty Years Later.

Give thanks to Nastassia Alayeto for including me in this remakable video about Hurricane Andrew:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GUkP-DDRcY

***
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Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.


***

Disclaimer of Endorsement

The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

"This Little Light of Mine" by Christina Philp

"This Little Light of Mine" by Christina Philp

Another hurricane. My younger daughter draws a picture.
***

Blog Disclosure Policy

Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.


***

Disclaimer of Endorsement

The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

Geoffrey Philp: "The Poet" @ The Miami Herald

“What the hurricane asks you is, ‘What are the most important things in your life?’’’ he said. “I knew I was with all the people I loved and I had my mother’s radio.’’ Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/08/18/2957977/the-poet.html
Blog Disclosure Policy

Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.


***

Disclaimer of Endorsement

The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.

Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

Remembering Hurricane Andrew: The Radio | Under The Sun

My interview with Kenny Malone of WLRN, who has a great mash-up of my poem, "Heirlooms."

Remembering Hurricane Andrew: The Radio | Under The Sun:

'via Blog this'

Blog Disclosure Policy


Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.







***

Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.


Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

Geoffrey Philp: Under the Sun With Kenny Malone

Tune in on July 6, 2012, to WLRN for my interview with Kenny Malone about my memories of Hurricane Andrew during  Remembering Andrew.  Show times are 6:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. EST. 

Here's the link so that you can listen to it on the web: http://www.wlrn.org/radio/listen/
Give thanks, Kenny, and remember to support public radio!

***
Blog Disclosure Policy


Geoffrey Philp’s Blog Spot receives a percentage of the purchase price on anything you buy through links to Amazon, Shambala Books, Hay House, or any of the Google ads or Google Custom Search.






***

Disclaimer of Endorsement


The documents posted on this Web site may contain hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links and pointers are provided for visitors' convenience. I do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of any linked information. Further, the inclusion of links or pointers to other Web sites or agencies is not intended to assign importance to those sites and the information contained therein, nor is it intended to endorse, recommend, or favor any views expressed, or commercial products or services offered on these outside sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites, by trade name, trademark, manufacture, or otherwise.


Reference in this Web site to any specific commercial products, processes, or services, or the use of any trade, firm or corporation name is for the information and convenience of the site's visitors, and does not constitute endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by this blog.

Hurricane Andrew: 20 Years Later

Graphic by Anna Philp

(7 years old)

By Geoffrey Philp


When Hurricane Andrew struck South Florida on August 24, 1992, my family was unprepared for the disaster. Sure, we had heard the warnings, but we had been lulled into a sense of complacency by years of frantic preparation, followed by an anticlimactic shift in the path of the hurricane, and then, nothing. All that work in vain.


And you would have thought that I'd have known better. After all, I grew up with my mother's stories about Hurricane Charlie and still had a lamp and battered Sony transistor radio that she had brought with her from Jamaica.


So, when the warnings began, we didn't pay attention to them. Another day in the tropics. In fact, we almost treated them as a joke. One of my friends when he heard that I was buying bully beef and other canned goods, gave me a bottle of Barbancourt (nice gesture, bad idea) as part of my hurricane preparedness.


We continued with our carefree lives until Hurricane Andrew made landfall in the Bahamas. Now things were getting serious. All of the major home improvement stores such as Home Depot and Lowe's ran out of plywood. I scrambled to buy five sheets of 3/4" plywood for $30 each from a guy on the back of a pickup. I installed them myself. Imagine a poet with power tools.


I did a pretty good job on the windows facing the street, but the windows in the back were still exposed. I did what my neighbors did. I covered the windows with duct tape (another bad idea) and barricaded the doors.


All night huddled around the kerosene lamp and transistor radio, my family and I listened to the stories of strangers who were on the verge of losing everything--roofs blown off, flood waters rising. Sometimes while fiddling with the dial, we'd listen to some music, but then we'd return to the somber stories. The stories reminded us of how small we were in the face of such an immense force of nature and yet it reinforced our connections with each other: past, present and future.


The next morning we emerged from the cocoon of our home to witness the destruction. Some of our neighbors had lost their homes. Now the stories were personal. My daughter said, "Dad, you have to write a poem. I'll help you. I'll draw a picture."


After breakfast, we settled down to our tasks. I wrote the poem, "Heirlooms" and my daughter drew a picture that I've kept for all these years. Writing and drawing kept us from being depressed about our post-Andrew discomforts. They were easy distractions from the mayhem in Miami that continued for a few months until life got back to normal. If life in Miami can be considered normal.


Since then, we've replaced the plywood with metal shutters and as part of our emergency plans we have an ample supply of water, candles, canned goods as part of our Disaster Supply Kit. We also pay more attention to the hurricane warnings, for as my daughter used to say to her little brother "Be careful, but not fearful."

Heirlooms

Through the garbled signals of a transistor 

radio my mother kept for hurricanes like this,

but never like this,

we scan for the next location of ice, 

water, food, and catch the edge 

of a Caribbean tinged station, 

fragments of a Marley tune,

"No, woman, nuh cry, everything's

gonna be all right," and my son, 

barely nine months, who cut a tooth 

while Andrew gnawed through the Grove,

dances with his mother by the glow 

of a kerosene lamp, preserved 

through airport terminals and garage

sales--and, as the window splintered-- 

the house glittered for a moment 

before the walls fell flat--stood

on the mantle of the fireplace 

we never used.In the midst 

of the rubble these, our only heirlooms, 

bind us against the darkness outside,

all that she could ever give,

all that we could ever pass on 

or possess: this light, this music.

***

Haiti Hurricane: Poetry Benefit

The African and African Diaspora Studies program at Florida International University in collaboration with Poetry for the Environment and the People (PEP), and the Mapou Cultural Center have organized a quick response poetry benefit fundraiser. They have partnered with Food for the Poor to get much needed funds and food to the victims of the recent hurricanes in Haiti.

The event will feature poetry and performances by: Jan Mapou, Donna Weir-Soley, Nzingah Oniwosan, Haiti Bluez (featuring Racine Jean Zenga), Nathalie Guillaume, Ivy Armstrong, and dance by Sosyete Koukouy. Along with the poetry, come join us for the live and persistent drum rhythms, Haitian folkloric dance, original art, and food!

The benefit will be held at the “Sant Kiltirèl Mapou" (Mapou Cultural Center) in Little Haiti on Friday, October 17, 2008 from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. The “Sant Kiltirèl Mapou” is located at 5919 Northeast 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33137.

Tickets:

$15 in advance

$20 at the door

$10 with student ID

Tickets are available at the following venues:

Libreri Mapou/Mapou Cultural Center

5919 Northeast 2nd Avenue

Miami, FL 33137

Phone: 305-757-9922

Fax: 305-757-3606

African and African Diaspora Studies

Florida International University

3000 NE 151st Street (AC1-162)

Miami, FL 33181

Phone: (305) 919-5521

Fax: (305) 919-5267

Or call Jessica @ 954.554.7177 Or Donna @ 786-718-7658

***

Help for Haiti

After the devastation in Haiti, we are all pulling together to help.

Miami Dade College, where I work, is also assisting in these efforts:

In cooperation with the City of Miami and other community partners, MDC is participating in a community-wide effort to bring relief to the Caribbean nations hit by the storms, including Haiti and Cuba.

Beginning on Monday, Sept. 15, through Friday, Sept. 19, MDC will collect nonperishable food, baby supplies and new or used clothing in good condition at the drop-off points listed below. Food items may include powdered milk, peanut butter and canned goods. "

One day, when true democracy reigns in the republic where "the modern world was invented," the damage caused by deforestation, perhaps, will be lessened.

clipped from caribbean-beat.blogspot.com After the island was hit by four successive and powerful storms (Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike), several humanitarian organisations – including the United Nations, World Food Programme, World Health Organization, Red Cross, Pan-American Health Organization, Oxfam and others – have launched an appeal for funding to support relief efforts in Haiti.

Watching for Hurricane Ike

Source: National Hurricane Center

Most of the computer models predict that Hurricane Ike will stay to the south of South Florida. We're not taking any chances though. We're starting to board up the house (again) and we've got water, food, and other supplies.

And while the phones are charging and the batteries are being checked, my son is updating my iPod with Mos Def: "A Soldier's Dream" and "Mathematics".

***

Hurricane Tracker

"Dancing With Katrina" by Geoffrey Philp

For this week’s Video Friday and the 600th post on this blog, here’s a poem livicated to Kalamu ya Salaam, who despite the disaster that was happening around him, continued with his valuable service to the community with e-drum.

Dancing with Katrina

For Kalamu ya Salaam

Paddling through New Orleans,

past a shotgun house up to its threshold

in brine, a dog, paws folded, waits

on the roof of his owner’s drowned

home, and stares across the river

at splintered houses in the shade

of pines, swaying in the wind

that keeled those sailboats

in the bay, leaning on each other

like partygoers after Mardi Gras,

when music filled the streets

like the laughter of those Creole

ladies, bright as Louis Armstrong’s horn,

that gave birth to this city,

dredged in the blues,

that hour by hour rises from her despair,

and puts on her favorite torn stockings,

so that when the waters go,

as they will,

she will be ready to work

as she has always worked

with style,

she will be ready to live

as she has always lived

with love,

she’ll be ready

to welcome all of God’s wayward

children into her arms again,

and dance with her stilettos in the mud.

September 10, 2005

Next week’s Video Friday will feature CM Clark’s “Learning to Drive.”

Have a great weekend!

***

Technorati Tags: New Orleans Hurricane Katrina

Update on Hurricane Dean

Damage caused by Hurricane Dean - Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM)
August 20, 2007
Last Updated: 1100 AM EDT


Parishes

St. Thomas: extensive damage has been reported from several communities. Significant wind damage to roofs, storm surges, flooding, collapsed structures, impassable roadways are among the many reports.

St. James: the community of Coral Gardens is severely affected by wind damage.

Kingston and St. Andrew: severe wind damage and downed power lines in the Riverton city area. Also, a fallen tree caused the collapse of a residential building in the Chambers Lane Area of Liguanea, St. Andrew.

Clarendon: flooding has been reported from the Denbigh gully.

Portland: several roadways in Port Antonio, Manchioneal, Mount James and Mount Airy in Buff Bay are blocked.

St. Mary: several roadways from Junction to Broadgate are impassable, blocked by fallen trees.

St. Catherine: storm surges have been reported along the Port Henderson road in Portmore rendering the roadway impassable along with roof damage in the communities of Naggo Head and Newland. The Newland Road is also impassable due to a fallen utility pole. Additionally, sections of the roadway have been eroded in Hellshire due to storm surges and rising water levels have been reported in Old Harbour forcing the evacuation of several persons.


Services

Telecommunications: cellular telephone lines are down in sections of Portland, St. Mary, and Clarendon and there is no communication link with St. Thomas with efforts are underway to re-establish this.

Electricity: well over 125,000 Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) customers are without power supply.

Water Supply: there have been reports of damage to water supply systems.

Source: Gleaner/Power 106 News

***

Hurricane Dean

Hurricane Aid for Jamaica

By EVAN S. BENN

South Florida's Jamaican community made preparations Saturday to rush donations and other relief to the island after Hurricane Dean sweeps over it today.

The Jamaica Consulate General and the Jamaican Diaspora Southern United States Advisory Board set up several drop-off spots in Miami-Dade and Broward counties where people can go to give bottled water, flashlights, nonperishable food, batteries and first-aid kits.

''We are hopeful Hurricane Dean's path will be diverted away,'' said Ricardo Allicock, Jamaica's Consul General in Miami. "But in the event it is not and Jamaica does suffer, Jamaicans here are prepared to be of assistance.''

Drop-off sites open today are:

• Tortuga Imports, 14202 SW 142nd Ave., Miami-Dade. 305-378-6668.

• Holy Family Episcopal Church, 18501 NW Seventh Ave., Miami Gardens. 305-652-6797.

• Kendall Community Church of God, 8795 SW 112th St., Kendall. 305-274-3072.

• Holy Sacrament Episcopal Church, 2801 N. University Dr., Hollywood. 954-432-8686.

• All Lauderhill fire stations. 954-739-0100.

***
Via Jamaicans.com

Here is a list of organizations that will provide aid and/or drop off points for anyone seeking to help Jamaica if HurricaneDean causes major damage.

ARIZONA/NEW MEXICO/TEXAS
Jamaica Foundation of Houston - Andy Adams
andr2@wt.net
E-Mail: JamaicaFoundation@earthlink.net
Telephone: 713-772-4456
Fax: 713-785-4095

ARKANSAS/OKLAHOMA/TENNESSEE
Jamaican Diaspora Tennessee - Janet Brown
6150595-1454
jeromejaneth@aol.com

ATLANTA/GEORGIA
Organization Name: United For Jamaica - Jason Walker
Website: http://www.unitedforjamaica.org
Email: info@unitedforjamaica.org
Email: jason55555@gmail.com
Phone: 404 533 1248

Atlanta Jamaican Association - Allan Alberga
407-523-6300
allanalberga@aol.com

CHICAGO
Chicago Concerned Jamaicans, Inc
Phone: (312) 602-4548
Web: http://www.chicagoconcernedjamaicans.org
E-Mail: ccjinfo@chicagoconcernedjamaicans.org

INDIANA
Doreen Chin
Membership Chairperson
Jamaica Diaspora of Indiana
P.O Box 55632
Indianapolis, IN 46220
317-281-9356
jamaicadi@gmail.com
http://www.jamaicadiasporaindiana.org

LONDON
Voicing For Jamaica
Address: 43 Lancaster Gate, LONDON W14 0NL
Website: http://www.voicingforjamaica.com
Email: voicingforjam1@aol.com
Phone: 07904 299 472

MIAMI/FT LAUDERDALE
Jamaican Diaspora Southern United Status - Marlon Hill
305-244-4456
mhill@delancyhill.com
info@marlonhill.com

MIAMI-DADE/BROWARD COUNTY
Tortuga Imports,Inc.
14202 SW 142 Avenue
Miami, FL. 33186
305-378-6668

Holy Family Episcopal Church
18501 NW 7th Avenue, Miami Gardens, FL
305-652-6797

Kendall Community Church of God
8795 SW 112 ST. , Kendall-Miami, FL
(305) 274-3072

Holy Sacrament Episcopal Church
2801 N University Dr, Hollywood -Pembroke Pines, FL
(954) 432-8686

City of Lauderhill Fire Stations (open 24 hours)
Most central - 1181 NW 42 Way
Phone: 954-739-0100
Situated just behind De Jamaica Shop south of the Lauderhill Mall

PALM BEACHES
Karline's of the Palm Beaches
4047 Okeechobee Blvd.
Suite 230, West Palm Beach 33409
Tel: 561-932-0103
Contact" Karline Ricketts

MDI Racing
10351 Southern Blvd.
Royal Palm Beach. FL 33411
Tel: 561-798-2433
Contact: Michael Clark

NEW YORK
Jamaica Impact, Inc. “JAMPACT”
Website: http://www.jampact.org
Email: jampact@jampact.org
Contact: Camille T. Barrett, President Elect
Phone: (212) 459-4390
At this time, we are only taking monetary donations to the JAMPACT Disaster Relief Fund. Donations will be accepted through our online payment system, PayPal, at http://www.jampact.org/ and checks should be made payable to "JAMPACT Disaster Relief Fund" and mailed to the following address:
JAMPACT
P.O. Box 3794
Grand Central Station
New York, N.Y. 10163

*All such donations will be tax deductible.


NORTH CAROLINA/CAROLINAS
Ms. Jennifer Edwards 336-643-5813
Jamaica National Assoc.
8003 Goldenrod Drive
Greensboro, NC 27455

CENTRAL FLORIDA/ORLANDO
Organization Name: Break Away Moments - Sandy Isaacs
Website: http://www.breakawaymoments.com
Email: breakawaymomentsevents@yahoo.com
Phone: (321) 439-5572

Jamaica American Association of Central Fla. - Herbert Dawkins
Generalinfo&jamaicanamericanassoc.com
Website: http://www.jamaicanamericanassoc.com
Phone: (407) 697-4654 or (407) 292-3719

Collection points in Orlando

Quick Ship Caribbean Services
2153 W. Colonial Dr. (In the Magic Mall)
Orlando, Fl. 32804
Tel: (407) 999-9501
Owner: Roy Rattray

FiWe Caribbean Cuisine,
6601 Old Winter Garden Rd.
(corner of Hiawassee Rd. & Old Winter Garden Rd (by Walgreens)
Tel: (407) 293-6393
Owners are Sean & Shari Bedasse.

Mark's Caribbean Cuisine
10034 University Blvd
(corner of Dean Rd. & Univer. Blvd
Tel: (407) 699-8800
Mark Jathan (owner)

Jam Rock Caribbean Cafe
5770 Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway,
Kissimmee
(located in Old Town)
Tel: (407) 397-7625
Leroy & Marlene Smithson (owners)

Dollar City Plus
1752 Silver Star Rd.
@ Silver Star & Clark Rd. in Ocoee
Tel: (407) 563-9152
Monica Gray (owner)

***
hurricane dean

We Don't Need No More Trouble

National Hurricane Center

Subscribe to updates about Hurricane Dean

Map forTracking Dean (via Francis Wade)

***

I Can See Clearly Now

One year after Katrina and while we are going through Ernesto, I look back on this poem that I livicated to Kalamu ya Salaam. I remain optimistic about New Orleans despite the ongoing tragedy. But as the poet Joy Harjo has said, "The sun is a mentor.It has taught me that tomorrow will come, no matter what. No matter failure, no matter clouds, no matter sorrow, no matter slaughter, no matter, or happiness. And each sun is differently received in turn by us, as we carry on our celebrations of living and dying. Yet the sun remains quintessentially the same, a shining star, a dynamic power, ushering our journey from one breath to another, one drama to the next.”

It was this belief that has sustained me through the years--like the turbulent one during which I wrote the collection, hurricane center, which in times like this give me comfort.

Dancing with Katrina

For Kalamu ya Salaam

Paddling through New Orleans,
past a shotgun house up to its threshold

in brine, a dog, paws folded, waits
on the roof of his owner’s drowned

home, and stares across the river

at splintered houses in the shade

of pines, swaying in the wind

that keeled those sailboats

in the bay, leaning on each other

like partygoers after Mardi Gras,

when music filled the streets

like the laughter of those Creole

ladies, bright as Louis Armstrong’s horn

that gave birth to this city,

dredged in the blues,

that hour by hour,

rises from her despair,

and puts on her favorite torn stockings,

so when the waters go, as they will,

she will be ready to work

as she has always worked

with style, she will be ready to live

as she has always lived

with love, so she’ll be ready

to welcome all of God’s wayward

children into her arms again,

and dance with her stilettos in the mud.

September 10, 2005

Livicated to Kalamu ya Salaam, who despite the hurricane and his own losses, continues to inspire and lead.

Blessings,
Geoffrey Philp

"Overcome the devils with a thing called love.” Bob Marley

***

Tags:

Writing
Caribbean writers
Jamaican writers
Jamaica
Miami
hurricane
Hurricane Ernesto
Hurricane Katrina
Poetry

Here We Go Again!

How to get NHC RSS Feed: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutrss.shtml

Other good links: Storm Information, Hurricane Awareness, Historical Information,Tropical Analysis and Forecasting Branch,

***

Other Miami Blogs to read until the lights go out:
http://www.criticalmiami.com/
http://miami.metblogs.com/archives/2006/08/get_ready.phtml

***

On the lighter side, we’re stocking up on the gas and hoping the lights don’t go out and all the usual drama surrounding a hurricane. I’ll be getting the usual hurricane supplies: Appleton, water, bully beef, hard dough bread, crackers, candles, and matches. And in that order.

Miami
hurricane
Hurricane Ernesto

Fidel Castro and Hurricane Chris

I couldn't resist this one. Even Hurricane Chris is looking for Fidel.

There should be Technorati Tags like these:

Donde esta Fidel?
Fidel afuera
Buscando Fidel
Para donde va, Fidel?
Ay, Carajo!

But more importantly, the media should answer these questions:

Will Fidel be showing up on milk cartons?
Should we institute a Fidel Alert system for the highways?
Are Fidel, 2Pac, and Elvis planning a comeback tour in Las Vegas?
My trusted media sources, Jim Screechy and Van Doolu, tell me that they will be playing under the name, "The Three Amigos")

Miami
Caribbean
Cuba
hurricane
Fidel Castro
Humor

"Anna and the Hurricane"

Here is the last story (at least for now) inspired by Mad Bull’s & Pan in 60’s challenge. In some ways these short-shorts were harder and easier to write than most forms of writing. The short-shorts are similar to short stories with a beginning, middle, and end, but they have the compactness of poetry. Unlike free verse, however, which can be infinite, these short-shorts with their limitation of 60 words are similar to sonnets. And as Clint Eastwood said in Magnum Force: “A man’s gotta know his limitations.”

“Anna and the Hurricane”

After the hurricane, Anna and I were waiting in line at the store to buy ice and water.
As soon as the door opened, a woman rammed through the crowd with a shopping cart and entered the store ahead of everyone.
“If you can’t love the crazy people,” Anna said, “you can’t love yourself.”
We formed the line again.

***

Tags:
Miami
Jamaica
Jamaican writers
Caribbean writers
Writing
short stories
Writing
hurricane
Americas
Caribbean

Hurricane Files: Jim Screechy and Van Doolu

"Rasta Force field" Saves Jamaica and Spares South Florida
Hurricane Ivan Threatens "No Problem" Island
By Jim Screechy and Ban Doolu

Miami, Florida, September 12, 2004--In what Brian Norcross of NBC-TV has described as a "mysterious and miraculous meteorological event", the eye of Hurricane Ivan narrowly missed Kingston, the capital of Jamaica by one degree.

Meteorologists are still baffled by the movement away from Kingston that virtually all computer models had predicted would impact the city. But it is no mystery to Prophet Zephaniah, who with twelve other prophets and a mysterious thirteenth figure, descended from Wareika Hills to conduct a news conference.

"This is the Rastaman force field" said Prophet Ivan, who added, "no relation."

He explained that it was Rasta that had saved Jamaica and Miami.

"I and I been chanting against Ivan all night. I and I brethren climb to the top of the mountaintop and chant, "Blow, Ivan, blow. Blow all you wind and rain/ you will never overcome I, never again/ I and I will turn the eye away from I home/ Send you back to Babylon, back to the Pope in Rome."

And so Kingston was saved. With the turn away from Jamaica, Miami has also been spared because the new track takes Ivan into the Gulf of Mexico.

President Bush, who was in Florida for relief work due to Hurricane Frances, was genuinely baffled by the report and when he could not find Jamaica on the map, gave up in disgust. Vice President Cheney when questioned about all the events told this reporter to "Go f**k himself." He then added he was glad he said it. Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld in a news conference Q&A exclaimed, "If they’re so god- damned small on a map that you can’t see to bomb em, why worry?" Secretary of State, Colin Powell, a proud son of Jamaican descent, could not be reached for comment.

Only Democratic contender, John Kerry, seemed to be moved by the situation. Long faced and teary eyed, he said he would vote for emergency funds for the island, but then changed his mind.

The island is barley recovering from the storm that has pelted the island. Police, who have been going door to door in August Town, comforted a Ms. Darlene Smith.

"Missis Simith, we have good news and bad news."

"Tell me the bad news first," she said.

"The hurricane killed your husband."

"Lawd, Gad," she said.

"Then what is the good news?"

"Him never get shot," said the policeman.

The Prime Minister, PJ Patterson, regretted the incident and vowed that as long as he was in power it would never happen again. Former leader of the JLP, Edward Seaga, briefly commented, "I am not saying anything, anymore. I have my own hurricane in my back yard."

Many Jamaicans, however, seemed genuinely relieved by the miraculous turn of events. But as prophet Zephaniah said, "Once more, I and I save this island, and still I and I never get the praise. When will I and I get the praise I and I deserve?"

When indeed.

Wilma

Jim Screechy: So, Van, why you say that Wilma was a Jamaican hurricane?
Van Doolu: Because them say we only catch the backside of the hurricane in Miami.
Jim Screechy: And?
Van Doolu: That was one helluva backside!

First published in Jamaicansrus.com

Jamaica
Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Wilma
hurricane
Humor