It doesn’t feel like a hurricane is barreling toward the Fort Myers area judging by the ho-hum attitude of locals here.
Sure, the TVs are turned to the weather station and a few businesses and homes are boarded up. But gas is still plentiful and lines are nonexistent.
Even the Home Depot had ample parking. Heck, we’ve still got power and wireless Internet connection in the hotel.
Boring.
Photographer Michael Spooneybarger and I drove at least a100 miles today, traversing barrier islands and the most suburban reaches of the area in search of hurricane frenzy.
None.
People gardened or biked or shopped, and a utility crew even repaired a power line, perhaps the most optimistic act ever witnessed with a line-snapping hurricane looming.
We stopped by a plasma donation center on the outskirts of Fort Myers.
Spooney shot photos of people boarding up the building. I went inside, where about a dozen people waited to give in exchange for cash.
Clinic manager Patricia Gant said the place is often a last-resort for people who need a few extra dollars, generally the community’s poorest residents.
One haggard gentleman waited for his turn.
He was reading a book: “A Winners Guide To Greyhound Racing.”