We're OK, but Charley kicked my ass.

[Nads]

This is the first time I've had access to a computer since Friday 13th. We finally got our power back after 22 hours, some in my neighborhood still haven't.
I have a tree that's leaning at 45 degrees, luckily I moved the Packford and Honda out of the way.
Others have lost everything. Downtown's a complete mess, just a pile of destruction. I consider my family to be very lucky.
I went to work today and discovered that our warehouse and offices are destroyed. An enormous AC unit has literally moved 20 feet and peeled most of the roofing clean off. The inside of our offices are totaled, all the furniture, the carpets and a lot of documentation are all gone.
I also lost a ton of vintage hot rod mags and literature.
But still, all told we're very fortunate indeed.
I'm glad I'm back talking to all of my HAMB buddies.
Much love to all of you.

I'd rather have been kicking back at the NYC Rumbler's show, but Mother Nature made other plans for me.

[JamesG]

Glad to hear you and yours are doing ok. Hang in there bro. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Kustom55]

Let us know if there is anything we can do. I know some of us are far away, but anything at all, just holla.

[himmelberg]

Good to hear that you and your family are safe. himmelberg

[LoungeLife]

Sorry for the loss and damage everyone is facing down there - glad you and the family are ok.


LL

[STODD]

Nads, I don't know you yet but all the SALVAGERZ say good things about you. I'm out here, too. I'm glad you're kickin' it and didn't suffer some of the destruction many other had. I'll catch you around sometime soon.

[repoguy]

Glad you & your family are OK.

[Nads]

Correction 46 hours without power.
I've gotta say that it's times like this that I realize how important having a good neighbor really is. I helped my next door neighbor get his generator going and he borrowed another from a friend and let me use his old one. I at least had my fridge going and didn't lose any food. It was a blessing.

Thanks for your support guys.

I can't wait to get back to work on my cars.

[Church]

Nice to know you are doing as well as can be expected. I think people here have been anxious to here some news...or any news. Keep your head up!

[Mart]

And you were moaning about the car port not being ideal.
You were the first person I thought about when I saw the pictures on the news. Glad you and yours are ok.
Love from England
Mart.

[Sailor]

Good to hear you are ok, dr. Knobchieze.

I seem to remember that you have a pretty cool house too? Any damage?

[MetalFlaked60]

[ QUOTE ]
Let us know if there is anything we can do. I know some of us are far away, but anything at all, just holla.

[/ QUOTE ]
What he said

[LIMEY]

Glad you are ok, it amaze's me how you all get back on your feet & fix everything up knowing to well that another will show its ugly face again sometime.
Can't begin to imagine losing everything.......oh wait a minute i was married once http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[Flexicoker]

[ QUOTE ]
I've gotta say that it's times like this that I realize how important having a good neighbor really is

[/ QUOTE ]
Is this the one that had one of our fireworks blow up on his patio? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif


Glad to hear you are all OK.

[whodaky]

Nads glad to hear you and yours are OK. Yeah when I saw the news I was thinking about what you all were going through. Mother nature has a way of telling us who is boss. Hey man if you need some old mags I have a few doubles here, they are yours if you want them. Just pm me an address and I will send them. Sort of like an Aussie care package. Hang in there mate. Geoff aka Whodaky

[voodoo]

Nads, you had me worried for a while. I tried calling you on Sat. but got no answer. And to think you invited me stay with you because Tampa was the target. Glad to hear you and your family are well.

[Bigums]

If you guys need anything, please let us know. Glad to hear everybody is okay.

[Nads]

BTW, we had several dozen airplanes get upturned at Hearndon Private Airport, it's only about 3 miles from my house. One of the losses was a vintage DC3, it's totally destroyed. It was really sad reading the owners account of losing it, they said something like "there's not many of these left." From what I understand the DC3 literally became airborne and slammed into the ground shearing one wing right off.
Lemme tell you, this was a horrific experience, I can't tell you what the sound was like, it's like a runaway train. I'm sure midwesterners with tornadoes know what I'm talking about. Mighty trees were swaying like those people thingys you see at used car lots.

All in all, the terror can't possibly compare to what an earthquake feels like. In '87 I experienced a 6.6 in LA, I was scared shitless, more scared than I've ever been, before or since.

I will never take Mother Nature lightly again and I'll be sure to have sympathy for my fellow human beings in similar catastrophes.

And we also need not take for granted what we have in this country and most of Europe, i.e an infrastructure, electricity and clean running water which most of the world's population do not have. I'm also very thankful for our police, fire department and utility workers. Don't ever thumb your nose at a garbageman, his profession may well be more honorable than yours.

[hankcash]

Glad to hear from you....
I was worried when I didn't see you on here this weekend...

Just curious... did you hold out in your house? or Did you go so a school Gymnasium or something.....
That had to be some scary shit!

HC

[porknbeaner]

Nads good to hear you're still on this side of the grass.
I haven't heard a peep out of Mike, ya got any good news?
Let us know if there's anything we can do to help you recoupe.

[Django]

Glad you and your family are ok. My grandfather (87) came through it unscathed thankfully! We were getting worried as we didn't hear from him until Saturday evening. My boss' parent's in Punta Gorda got hit pretty hard. They're ok, but their house is toast.

[38pickup]

Well, I am happy to hear you and your family is ok. Sad to hear about the DC3 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif though.

[34 GAZ]

I was really wondering about you as well Nads. Bloody hell,
That place looked like a fortress.I hope you and your dad
can recover as fast as time permit,s.

[Big A]

Glad to hear you're ok, brother.

[fab32]

Nads, Thanks for the update. Sure good to hear it wasn't any worse for you. Sounds like your attitude is where it should be. Its times like this when we are thankful for what we still have not what we have lost. Hang in there, you've got a lot of HAMB brothers and sisters pulling for you.

Frank

[yorgatron]

this may or may not be funny...

[ChaletStacker]

Nads good 2 here you and family r ok, just got of the phone 2 me Mom n Dad, it just miss them... hope to c u Xmas Mark.

[53Chebby]

Hey Nads, good to hear you are fine. My little brother is in Orlando for the summer on an internship and we were freaking out a little. We've been through tornadoes before, but nothing on that large of a scale. I'm flying down there tomorrow and driving back with him. On the way back we are hitting the HAMBdrags. Let me know if there is anything I can do.

[RF]

Which helmet were you wearing when Charles came through (bars n stars I hope!)? Good to hear you made it through.

[4t64rd]

Glad to hear you are alright, I left a message, but I'm sure the cell towers were without power too.

Was the offices I saw you at? How is the babymaker and your other car? If you have a few favorite mags and brochures you lost, maybe we can help replace them, I am not without resources...

[jalopy43]

Glad you are ok!!
Can't begin to imagine losing everything.......oh wait a minute i was married once http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

[trey]

glad to see you are ok Nads. i thought about posting to see how you florida guys were doing.

i hear ya about the damage. i was in sc when hugo came through. mean ass storm. we didnt have power for 2 freaking weeks. probably the best two weeks of my life though.

its nice to see neighbors come together and help each other out. i hope you guys are experiencing that too. good luck to all of ya. for my sake, i hope this drops the price of property in florida http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[cleatus]

Glad to hear the Packford made it through ok....oh...uh...yeah, and you too of course.

[Boones]

Glad to hear you and the family are OK... Sad to hear about the DC3. Wonderful planes and very few flying...

Has anyone heard from HotRod Walt yet.

[burndup]

Trust me, earthquakes arent SHIT compared to what you went thru... Yeah, they're bad, but not like what you just had.

I went thru the SF/Santa cruz one in the late 80's, and the 94 Northridge one, they were scary allright... Thru both of those, I had a beer mug break, thats it, whoopty shit.

But at least in an earthquake, shit only falls down... You got stuff lifted up, blown around, THEN dropped from up high... no thanks!

Glad you're doin well...

[Nads]

Django, sorry to hear about your parent's house.
Mike I tried to call you, the cells are all fucked up.
Draglinks didn't fare too well, his kid's bedroom had a branch come through it, it did quite a bit of damage. His spirits are good though.
Rumbler Dave Rossi's old crusty VW bug was crushed to a pancake. It was just a body, but it had survived all these years and, poof, now it's gone.
When the eye was passing through town is when I noticed the tress getting mighty close to the cars. The Packford was sitting in a direct path and she'd been rained on for hours straight. I thought for sure she wasn't gonna start and I got my wife ready to push her, but she cranked right up, in fact I drove her to work today. She's a tough old girl, old cars rule!
Rob, I was wearing my John Travolta wig, you shoulda seen it flapping in the wind. It was kinda cool.
My wife had just spent about $1500 redoing my daughter's bedroom, and we got a leak and all the work's undone, but that shit can be all fixed.
At least we were all together, my kids and all. We played board games in the candlelight, our assholes were puckered, but there was a light at the end of the rainbow.
When I think about the suffering that some people go through on a daily basis I have to count my lucky stars.

The best part of the ordeal was enjoying a cold beer in the dark.

Life's good.

[Nads]

Boones, I heard HotRodWalt's OK, I think he was just north of where the shit hit the fan.
ChaletStacker, I miss you awful bad, hope to see you soon.

Burndup, an earthquake is still way scarier, there's nowhere to hide. I'm in the mood to experience a volcano.

[slowpoke]

Glad to hear it's only material things guys. Growing up on the South Texas Coast with a Dad who's job (Good ole' MaBell) required he stay I know exactly what you were up against. One year we retreated to Laredo. Sure as shit it turned from the upper coast and ran right through padre island towards us. We road through that aftershock in a popup camper strapped to three cars. Scary shit. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

[Mike Zenor]

Glad to hear you & kith & kin escaped (relatively) unscathed, buddy. I remember those things from my days in FLA and have seen what they can do.

[Paul]

[ QUOTE ]
Life's good.


[/ QUOTE ]

truely glad you are here to remind us,

and all the rest of you guys that live in the country's nut sack too.

Paul

[squigy]

Nads,sorry for the late reply but if there is anything myself or the SALVAGERZ can do for you,DRAGLINKS or any other unfortunate ones who didnt fair so well because of this storm let me know.i have sent $100.00 to the Salvation Army today so that is what i can do to begin to help others in this shitty time.Good luck to you all. and all Hambers lets give a shout out to the big guy in the sky to help these people...

[hotrodladycrusr]

I been thinking and praying for my Florida HAMB brothers all weekend. I'm thrill you and yours came out ok. Glad to hear Mike and family are ok too. Houses can be fixed, most possession can be replaced, people can't.

I work for Bright House Networks, one of the cable companys in central FL. We have OVER 300 miles of cable down. I can't remember how many hundreds of thousands of our customers are without service right now. A dozen of our local metro Detroit installers have volunteered to go down there and help. They are leaving in convoy at 6am in the morning. Our company told them to expect to be there a minimum of a week and they will be working 12-15 per day till all cable services are restored. I realize cable isn't as important as electric, water and gas but to lots of folks, especially the elderly, TV is their life and their connnection to the world. To others, like us, internet access is our lifes http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I'm proud of my guys. If you see a Bright House Networks van or truck with Michigan plates in your neighborhood, stop and say hi to them. Tell them your a bud of mine http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

PLEASE, if there is ANYTHING you need us to send you, don't hesitate to ask. We're here for you.

lots of love, hugs and kisses

[plmczy]

Glad to hear everyone made it thru alright! later plmczy

[BELLM]

Glad to hear you guys are ok. I rode out a hurricaine in Houston years ago, eye passed over downtown, about 10 miles from my house. Freaky watching trees leaning one way then suddenly leaning in the opposite direction as the eye passed.

[zman]

Very glad to hear you're OK. Hurricanes suck. And not just the NC hockey team.

[mikes51]

That's good news. Glad to hear everyone is ok.

[old beet]

NADS, good to hear yer O K. Please keep us updated. If I can help, P M me.........OLDBEET

[AHotRod]

Nads.
If there os anything I can do to help you out, just let me know.
PM'd ya

[SlowLearner]

Hey Nads! Good to hear from you! This HAMB thing is amazing. Never even been to Florida. Ever since Charley made the news, I've been wondering how you were faring and looking for your post (well not CONSTANTLY). Real glad to hear you and the family are safe and recovering. Ditto other FLA HAMBer's. Sorry about your mags. I've got some old HR's if you need'em.
-Keith

[dixiedog]

Nads - Glad to hear you guys are okay. With all the destruction these things have a way of bringing a community together.

Even though we are in Jacksonville I still haven't seen any news about Orlando other than the airport and interviews with British tourists. The folks here in Jacksonville feel like we dodged that bullet, esp. after cleaning up from TS Bonnies tornados.

The local power company only had 5 trouble calls all night when Charley passed which is a lot less than when a strong thunderstorm moves thru.

[Greezy]

Extremely happy to hear that all is well with you and your family, and Draglinks as well.

[Mai Ki-Ki]

Glad to here you are all well...neighbours show their true colours in a disaster.


Cheers and Best Wishes

maiki

[Richie]

Hang in there man!
My family was without power for like a week of so back in...I dunno...86?
Its tough but you get through.
Stay strong.

[tikiranch]

Nads, Good to hear you and the Fam are ok. We were getting worried when voodoo couldn't get in touch with you. First round of drinks are on me at the Huki Lua....you in! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Steve

[Spitfire1776]

Really glad to hear you guys fared through and are well.

I just finally got to talk to my parents down in Sebring. Some house damage. I still don't think they have power, they had to drive to south Okeechobee to call on cell. My pops 60's Cherokee boat is totaled.

The best to you down there.

[atch]

to all you florida hambers,

like several folks have already said, if there's anything you need or anything that the rest of us can do to help you get through this please don't hesitate to ask.

glad you've made it through as well as you did.

[Grinder]

Dam we were lucky on this one. How you holding up brother nads.Talk to mike to make sure you were fine .We just got power back monday the 16th and phone on the 15th.was glad to hear you all were ok.The house did ok lost the shutters and about 200 feet of fence.and two tree came down in the back.The kids slept though it.And I know I head a tornado or two. Some of the people two streets over lost there whole roof.Ali's mom is in port charlotte she made it ok lost all the tree in the yard and a shed house was fine. Some were not so lucky they lost every thing. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Dirk35]

Good to hear you and yours are safe.

[Mike]

Nads, I'm glad to hear that you and your family are safe. Scarry shit for sure.

It's a shame about the DC-3, I love those old Dakotas. It's crazy what a strong wind can do to airplanes. I work for a flight school here in AZ and we keep all of our aircraft chained to the ground when they are parked. We get crazy monsoon storms in the late summer (like now) and if the wind blows hard enough in the right direction, our planes will actually "fly" in the chains. I've seen it happen, it's really strange.

You're right about the earthquakes too. I spent most of my life living in northern CA. Earthquakes really didn't bother me until I went through the big 7.1 Loma Prieta quake in '89. It's hard to have any faith or confidence in anything when the whole fucking world is shaking like that.

Mother nature can put the zap on any of us any time she wants to.

Again, I'm glad to hear that you ar allright.

['Flyin' Dutchman']

I'm glad you'll made it through in one piece...
It sucks about when belongings are being wrecked, Nads...
Good luck with getting everything "back to normal".

Maurice

[voodoo]

[ QUOTE ]
to all you florida hambers,

like several folks have already said, if there's anything you need or anything that the rest of us can do to help you get through this please don't hesitate to ask.

glad you've made it through as well as you did.

[/ QUOTE ] All I can say is to make a contribution to the Red Cross. 1-800-HELPNOW. Tell them it is for the Charley relief fund. Luckily all the Hambers made it OK but there are thousands who have lost everything.

[Nads]

I just talked to Draglinks, AKA Mike, and he's not fairing too well. Both his house and shop have been without power since the 13th, they're going to take a financial beating.

I'm covered in dirt and debris right now, my shoes and clothes are soaked and I drove all over the place just to find gas.

I can't tell you how much the support from my HAMB family means to me, and I think I speak for all of us affected.

I just wanna know what kind of strange juju the Tampons played to avert the storm at the last second? The fuckers got NOTHING, lucky bastids.

Tampons have a deal worked out with the Devil.

Love,

Nads.

[Nads]

PS, I wonder how many Charleys will be born 9 months from now?

[burndup]

[ QUOTE ]
PS, I wonder how many Charleys will be born 9 months from now?

[/ QUOTE ]

One, for certain, huh? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[voodoo]

[ QUOTE ]

I just wanna know what kind of strange juju the Tampons played to avert the storm at the last second? The fuckers got NOTHING, lucky bastids.

Tampons have a deal worked out with the Devil.

Love,

Nads.

[/ QUOTE ] Notice my name and the name of my previous band. It wasn't juju per say as the locals call it Santaria. Suffice it to say a bunch of chickens paid the ultimate price to keep Tampa high and dry. I'm laying down some flour for Mike tonite. He will be alright.

[SamIyam]

Glad to hear you're ok.
Sam.

[Missing Link]

I was thinking about all of the Floridian fruits http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif and only hoped for the best. A martini without a lime is just wrong http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif Hey, just trying to invoke some humor. "Yeah this place is more stale than Martha Stewarts yeast infection, hey"...why did I just have a Rodney Dangerfeild insight? I don't know...just trying to have little fun folks. Maybe make someone who is bummed laugh. it probably didn't work and i will yet again be a HAMB outcast!
Like many others have stated if there is something that anyone down there needs please let me know. I will do my best to help out. Good to hear all of you made it through alright. If I can help I will.

[Toqwik]

Glad you and the family are safe and healthy. I was there for Andrew, and although my damage was minor, it does remind you how you take things for granted. Good luck on getting your house and everything else back into order. You have your family, and everything else can be fixed or replaced. Would be glad to help you or any other HAMBers down there that need it. Good luck.....Scott

[Nads]

Here's picture of Dave's VW. It had sucide doors but now it's chopped.

[repoguy]

Hey, one more thing Nads,

If you or Mike (over there at the dragqueens cc) need a hand, as in some actual manpower to help out, give me a call or a PM.

I'll take a few days off, load up the F150 & a friend or 2 and head out.

Seriously. You know we've got your back over here of you need it.