21 Years ago . . .

Hurricane Hugo struck the Carolina's. I was in 4th grade and Carl was in the 10th grade. My solar system project was due and my mom stayed up late helping me complete the project. My brother slept right through it and I was worried that a tree would fall on him while he was sleeping. Carl lived in Pawleys Island and was fascinated by the hurricane. His family had to evacuate from their home. They drove about 60 miles inland and the roof of their hotel came flying off in the night. There was a Huddle House when they checked in the hotel that was gone when they checked out. They came home to a huge mess in Pawleys Island with the Red Cross canvassing their street. They lost lots of Christmas ornaments and pictures. They also found other peoples items floating in their creek. Hurricane Hugo shaped Carl's life in so many ways and created his fascination with all things weather. It did not really change my life so much. I remember going to the grocery store with my dad and people using chain saws to get through the roads. We were out of school for two weeks which was pretty crazy considering we were so far from the coast. At that time, it was the most destructive hurricane to ever hit the United States. That record was changed three years later when Hurricane Andrew hit during Carl's first week at the College of Charleston. My Weather Wacko provided me with that fact just to clear up any confusion. I had to evacuate the College of Charleston my sophomore year due to a hurricane too. It's hard to believe that Hurricane Hugo was 21 years ago. That's one thing about Tennessee is hurricanes are pretty much out of the realm of possibility.