Hurricane Aftermath

I was in Florida a week ago, for the annual Slagle surfing retreat. I still haven't got the hang of the sport, but I delight in trying. I finally figured out why I'm no good at it too. Once a wave is caught, you have to stand up immediately. This is a problem. When I'm on the couch, and decide to stand up, it usually takes me at least two or three commercials before I'm vertical. Even then, straightening up takes a long time, accompanied with a lot of grunting.

Things were a little different around the surf break. Because of the recent hurricanes, it was declared a disaster area. Several hotels closed and aren't reopening until December. The Hilton parking lot was full of container-size dumpsters. I couldn't imagine how much damage was inside the hotel, that could generate that amount of trash. It was curious, since the little motel where I usually stay, just had a lot of sand kicked up, and a few ceiling tiles missing from under the picnic gazebo.

I also learned more about the Federal Emergency Management Administration while I was down there. A benefit I did not know existed, is something called, "Disaster Unemployment." This is a check you get, if you have been let off work because you're workplace is damaged from a declared disaster. (Of course, I wonder now if workers for the Kerry Campaign will be eligible for disaster benefits in a week.)

One night, I was talking to a bartender who had been receiving it. The bar had just reopened, and this was the first week she worked since early September. "You have to be looking for work to get it, but they never check," she said. "I actually got two job offers while I was off, but what sense does it make to start another job when I knew this place was going to reopen?"

An unemployed Hilton worked sitting at the bar joined into the conversation. " It's not just hurricane damage, we're going through a complete rehab right now too."

Hmmm. I wonder if any of the items that Mr. Hilton claims on his FEMA report were going to be replaced anyway? What a great way to upgrade all your mattresses cheap. It's also very nice that the Hotel won't have to pay any unemployment during the rehab. Such a nice coincidence this didn't occur during the busy season.

As for me, I was disappointed in the week for a number of reasons. I usually have the surf break all to myself while everybody else is at work. I can splash around in the waves all day, without ever having to worry that I might get in the way of the serious surfers. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with surf etiquette: imagine making snow angels in the middle of a ski run. It's much easier when there's not as many people skiing. You also have a lot less chance of getting punched out.

Well this week, the surf was unbelievably crowded all day long. Perhaps the reason for the crowds was the unusually good surfing conditions. But I lean towards another unsubstantiated speculation: the surfers were all blessed with more free time since their jobs were all on hiatus.

The other fly in the suntan oil: the Motel rates were considerably higher than I've been used to in previous years. Because October is the off-season, rooms are usually dirt cheap. Since construction and utility workers from all over the country have descended on Florida for the rebuilding, rooms were scarce. Meanwhile FEMA picks up hotel bills for out of state disaster workers, and FEMA is willing to pay top rack rate. The scarcity combined with FEMA's ability to pay the big cash, insured there were no discounts.

Perhaps the workers that were all being shipped in from around the country, had skills that these surfers did not have. But isn't it a wonderful system we have, that pays able-bodied kids to surf, and gives out of state workers free beach vacations?