PUNTA GORDA, Fla.–In journalism school, professors say, “always report the news; don’t be the news.”
That all changed with Hurricane Ian on Sept. 28. I hated to disappoint my old professor, but here I am “being the news,” all thanks to Ian.
My husband, Pete, and I have been through three major hurricanes while living in the Sunshine State during our 22-year marriage. The worst, before Ian, was Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 storm in 2004.
Charley had a five-mile-wide eye, and blasted through Punta Gorda in an hour. The storm still packed damaging winds that left behind a swath of crumpled structures. Our home and yard suffered heartbreaking damage….