[11 a.m.] There’s just something very trustworthy about Kelly Goernd. He’s got a straw hat, a firm handshake and he wears no-nonsense, straightleg Levis with work shoes. He’s here just south of Fort Myers selling generators for his Montana-based Al Pro Power Equipment (they’re even building themselves a dern-good Web site, http://www.allpropower.com). And despite his showroom being the side of the road on Tamiami Trail, I believe him when he says his generators are better built and will last longer than the ones you find at local mega-home improvements stores like Home Repo.

I must not be the only one who buys this story because just yesterday, Kelly sold 15 generators from this desolate spot and some of these babies cost close to $1,300. Whether anyone will actually need these generators is another story. Wilma appears to be weakening and some predict the storm could be a Category 1 storm by the time it gets here. Of course, if Fort Myers is anything like Tampa, where all it takes is a gentle breeze to knock out your power, folks might need Kelly’s dynamos. I’d buy one of these babies, but I don’t think there’s a line on my expense report for such items. Oh, wait, here it is: “Miscellaneous.”