Monday, August 16, 2004

Heading into the first workday after Hurricane Charley, we moved carefully, haltingly, with a tendency every now and again to stop and look around us in amazement.

Half of us in Central Florida’s seven counties had our power restored by Monday, but half of us did not. For those without, no trace of a breeze stirred the curtains in our opened windows.

Orange County announced that schools would be closed for more than a week, while most other local districts were still undecided on when to reopen. So many of us scrambled for child care, stowed our kids in unused corners of air-conditioned offices -- or skipped work altogether and tried to entertain youngsters at home.

Lines were everywhere. At stoplights that no longer worked. At gas pumps that were about to run dry. At fire stations and community centers that had much-needed water and ice.

The hurricane death toll across the state climbed to 18, and estimates of hurricane damage rose to $20 billion. But there was still some good news amid the bad: In the eastern Caribbean, Hurricane Earl disintegrated into a faltering tropical storm.