Jaunted

Frederic did plenty of damage in places like Alabama's gulf coast, but St. Maarten got away with only minimal destruction. We were lucky, but also bored out of our minds. The airports, beaches, and restaurants were all closed and we were confined to quarters as the rain kept coming down. Our electricity went out. Water seeped from the electric outlets. We played charades, and my dad tried to act out Jimmy Carter getting attacked by a rabbit. We swapped stories, and I found out that my mom's favorite song was My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean. We even created a crude version of the game Battleship using notebook paper. It was just as boring as regular Battleship.

Every evening, the resort would send a bus around to pick us up for dinner at the main restaurant. There, hotel staff would provide announcements and updates on the storm and when the airports would reopen. Everybody was trying to get out of there. I accidentally drank some of my dad's rum and coke while he was in the buffet line. I recall thinking that it tasted kind of funny.

Once the heaviest rains had subsided, there was a big to-do about a pair of British Harrier jump jets landing at the airport. With the crush of people trying to get out, we had to wait an extra day for a flight, which entailed staying at another hotel. By this point the sun had returned, and people slowly emerged to clear the debris off the streets. The hotel had a sign advertising "crab races," which I thought was the greatest thing I'd ever heard of. At the appointed hour, however, there were no crab races. The hurricane had disrupted even that.

Related Stories:
· Four Killed in Caribbean Tropical Storm [USA Today]
· When Is Hurricane Season? [noaa.gov]
· Hurricane Frederic [University of South Alabama]
· Hurricane Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: USA Today]

Tags: Hurricanes / Hurricane Frederic

by Victor Ozols