21st Anniversary

Today is the 21st anniversary of Hurricane Andrew -- a truly momentous time on my family's history. Sitting in the gold Mitsubishi Diamonte, which is still the best car for the money I've ever had, was Wifey, the Ds, Grandma Sunny, and enormous Lab Midnight and small Cocker Spaniel Alfred. I ushered the family into the car, thinking at least the roof would give us some relief from the collapsing ceilings. Since the garage was on the house's NW corner, farthest from the wind, the roof held and we were ok. Initially the dogs were left out, but in a collective canine WTF??? they leapt in through the open windows. We let them stay -- mostly at Sunny's urging. So the dogs long ago died, and Grandma Sunny left us just 4 months ago. She was an old lady THEN, it seemed, which is why we kept her in our house with us --lest she ride out the storm alone in her condo. She was 72. My oldest sister is just now 4 years younger than that! Speaking of age, I just took the strange dog on a walk, and we ran into our neighbor Irv. Irv was spraying weeds, and I stopped to chat. We talked Canes football -- he's a long time Golden Cane. Irv was a lawyer and hit it big in real estate --retiring young from law. He married a younger stewardess --NOT flight attendant, but stewardess -- and they have a lovely life together. I guess Kay is in her 70s. I always thought Irv was in his early 80s. Today the issue came up -- and he proudly proclaimed he was "90 and a half." I didn't believe him, and tried to trip him up like a clerk at a liquor store --asking what year he was born. He didn't miss a beat: "1923." Wow. He's sharp, and still fit. We talked about fellow Miami lawyers, and he was at least as good as remembering names as I was. He told me he has an older sister who lives where my Mom did --Kings Point, in Delray. She is a widow, and Irv watches after her. She has a caretaker, and the sister is giving the condo to her. Irv knows how lucky he is. He treats every day as a gift, and he has received a huge gift. He said he loves the 'hood and never thinks about moving. He and Kay golf, and socialize, although he said he gave up going to Canes football games last year. He may make an exception for the Gators, he said with a wink. So -- nothing new to report: time keeps marching on, flowing on...MOVING on. Cyclones come, and they blow past. People come, and people go. After Irv, I ran into my neighbor Mike, out cutting his lawn. That's a rarity here --someone cutting his own grass. I told Mike he brought me back in time to LI --when I cut lawns as a summer business. He's from LI, too --Catholic school, though. Mike's an exec with FPL -- and does it to enjoy the exercise, and as a brief respite from all the talking that goes on in his house: like me, he's blessed with 2 daughters. We also talked Canes football --Mike has a grad degree from the U. I didn't visit Devonwood after Andrew, but can imagine how denuded it was. The trees now are huge and lush --probably stronger than they were 21 years ago. Irv inspired me to age in place. Who am I kidding, when I think about moving? I love it here. No more hurricanes, though...except the gridiron variety.