Summertime 2024 part 4: Second guessing Debby the Hurricane

Maybe you read that short story maybe you didnt about the father who was a smart scientist who took his son on a walk in nature and they were walking through a train tunnel and then they heard a train coming but they didnt know from which way. If they went the wrong way they would get hit by the train as it came in. If they ran away from the train in the tunnel they would make it out of the tunnel before the train hit them.  The father put his ear to the tracks to try to figure which way the train was coming from, but the truth was with all his scientific training, he didnt know.  He had to guess in the end to save him and his son.  He told his son which way they should run by listening to the tracks, but he was faking it and guessing. Did he guess right?  

On Saturday August 3rd we were in Michigan for our last day before we took a flight down to Florida to visit Grandmother on her birthday on August 4th.  Get this.  Saturday, August 3rd was such a hot day in Michigan.  It was a nice day though. But we probably got burned walking in the midafternoon sun along the road after we had returned the car to the airport and were walking back to our hotel.  I was worried that my daughter would get sun poisoning it was so hot and we were in the direct sun for an hour.  Well suffice to say that she didnt and we had a great swim in the Michigan bay at a park and did our usual stuff. Just the extreme difference for what we would experience the next day.  (picture courtesy of "flintjarvis" East bay park)

Because in the night we were watching TV and as my sister had warned me in the afternoon there was a hurricane, hurricane Debby on the way up the gulf coast to hit Florida.   On Saturday it was down in the Bahamas or at the bottom of Florida in the straits.  Would it make it to where we were going by our plane time?  

I thought about it over the night and came to the conclusion in the morning that if the plane was cancelled would my daughter want me to rent a car again and drive us down to Florida?  It would take at least 24 hours with an overnight in Tennessee or something.  We would get there on Monday.  

I thought about this and to tell you the truth I really hate to drive and didnt want to do it, especially on unknown roads.  But ... if the plane was cancelled on Sunday, we could wait in the hotel til Monday or try to drive down right away on Sunday.  I asked the receptionist at the hotel if he could save our room till noon just in case our flight was cancelled.  

So those were our options IF the flight was cancelled.  

This is where my story at the beginning of this post comes in. I really didnt know from which way the train was coming and what I would have to do.  

Luckily my daughter said when I asked her about driving down that she didnt really want to do it.  That made it easier for me.  If she had said, "yes, we might have to do that", then well... i might have had to do that.  But with her answer, at least I felt we could go back to the hotel ok.  We had to make it to Florida, that was necessary. Our flight back left from there.  

So from which way was the train coming?  

When we got to the airport we found out our plane was leaving late by an hour.  But that was it.. for now.  The guy checking us in didnt even know there was a hurricane coming and he was saying some company spiel that this was only for safety and it wouldnt be more, or something. I had to tell him the plane might be flying into a hurricane.  

BUT.

The plane only left one hour late.  

Phew.  If they had delayed it more it would only have been worse as the hurricane would be nearer.  So, I hope they saw that and got us out of there. 

We made it. 

BUT... 

Then I had to get us to my Mothers 45 minutes away.  I had no shuttle booked this time.  It was raining hard already.  

So, once again, I had to figure out from which way the train was coming?   How to get us out of there.  I had to call from the information lady's phone several time as I had no phone here.  No one answered.  And really, who would want to come and pick us up 45 minutes away and then drive back... all in a hurricane downpour.  

Uber wouldnt do it unless I booked from my phone which I didnt have.  There was no shuttle.  A couple friends... we couldnt reach them.  How to get out of here? Finally the information lady said, well, take a taxi.  Huh?  There are taxis?  Well, ok, I think it is going to cost 200 bucks though if the shuttle last year cost 150. But.. yeah sure. A taxi.  

I guess I figured out from where the train was coming correctly because all I had to do was go to the taxi line and take the taxi there.  The guy joked and said "500 dollars" when I asked how much. But I didnt get it and thought it was real.  

So, we got a taxi.  

Now here is the fun part I can talk about for the rest of my life.  Driving in a taxi through a tropical rain bordering on a hurricane.  Hurricane Debby.   And he STILL took us over the sunshine skyway bridge in St Petersburg pictured here.  It wasnt even closed. They close it when winds reach like 30 mph, or more maybe.  But it wasnt closed.  So, man oh man, driving up that bridge, we met only like 5 cars on the whole bridge when normally there are dozens.  The rain was hard hard hard.  Talk about a hard rains a gonna fall.  That was it.  

But I have to say I was never scared when the guy was driving. I told him he didnt have to go fast we werent in a hurry.  And he said I am not even going 50mph I think it was.  So, he was taking it easy.  But well, it was kind of fun.  I only feel bad that I dont think I tipped him well enough for having driven us through a hurricane or tropical storm Debby.  But to tell you the truth I will take a taxi from now on as it was cheaper than the stupid luxury shuttle.  

Mr. Taxi dude driver:  Good job.  Excellent. And fun. And we DIDN'T end up like this.  

So, in the end I am not going to tell you how the story about the father, son and which way the train was coming, did he guess right, finishes, but for me... we came out fine and I guessed correctly all the time.  Others didnt. 

Listening to old skool drum and bass singles during this writing. I have to get this label.  Western Lore.   For instance: