Page 9 - LIN.NOVEMBER17WEB

pounding us from all sides. I couldn’t wait to get back to the Hilton and THE NAPLES PLAYERS
I decided that one job I didn’t want would have been a member of the
SUGDEN THEATRE ON 5TH AVE SOUTH NAPLES
traveling Weather Channel storm chasers who throughout the rest of
this hurricane ran on pure adrenaline. Back at the Hilton it was only 2017-2018 SEASON
a matter of hours before our first responders were going to be on lock
down and would not be able to respond to any calls because they would - DARING & FUN -
be in danger if they ventured out.
Sunday morning at 12:30 a.m. I had my last phone interview and
went to bed. Fortunately for all of our pet dogs that needed a facility to
use, and until it got so bad none of us could take them out, the Hilton
parking garage worked well. Sleep was out of the question and it was
eerily quiet with nothing but rain and wind pounding the windows.
Sunday morning was ugly and getting worse. We shared our provisions
that we had brought with everyone and the Hilton Staff supplied
whatever they had. Storm surge was inevitable and there was nothing
to do but wait. Updates were coming in via cell phone and battery- TICKETS: ADULTS - 40 THROUGH NOVEMBER 5, 2017
$
operated radios that the Florida Keys were being hit hard and that the SUBSCRIBERS - $35 Sponsored by: BY QUI NGUYEN
eye was going to go directly over us by late afternoon. Early afternoon STUDENTS/EDUCATORS - $10 BouTeak by JM, Corbett Cooling & Cain Dogg Productions
we had to abandon the lobby and go to our rooms. I was still talking
with national news media from CNN, MSNBC, Weather Channel,
- CLEVER & SHARP -
Bloomberg, and a myriad of others. They wanted to know how did
I feel, what were my thoughts, how was I coping, and of course the
not knowing what would await me after the storm had passed was
the most stressful. At 3:30 p.m. Irma was approaching Marco Island
and heading for us within the next hour. Our room faced South and
was on the second floor. It was perhaps the scariest scene I had ever
witnessed looking out of that window just prior to the eye passing over
us. Palm trees bent over from the raw power of the wind coupled with
$
the hardest rain I had ever seen was hard to describe. Conversation was TICKETS: ADULTS - 40
almost non-existent between Chris and I. All of a sudden, she looked at SUBSCRIBERS - $35 THROUGH NOVEMBER 19, 2017
BY JORDAN HARRISON
me and said, “I wonder what the score of the Buffalo Bills game is?” We STUDENTS/EDUCATORS - $10 Sponsored by: Naples Floor Coverings
had to laugh and then a text on my phone from our daughter Kim who
was in Boston and watching the unfolding scene said you have about 10
minutes to take Zsazsa (our bulldog) out because the eye is directly over - TRADITIONAL & WARM -
you. Sure enough it became calm the wind and rain stopped and there
was a beeline of owners and pets scurrying for the lobby door so they
could do their business. Seven minutes later we had to get back in as
the wind had changed directions and the back of the storm ramped up.
And then the next text that I will never forget appeared on my phone.
It was from Bill Moss our City Manager. It said “No storm surge.” My
- HOLIDAY MUSICAL -
first thought was that he was joking but I knew better. I called him FULL ORCHESTRA
and he briefly told me that the back of the storm was breaking up and
we would have perhaps a minor surge, but nothing like was expected. TICKETS: ADULTS - 45
$
I knew from that point on that no matter how bad it might be when SUBSCRIBERS - $35 NOVEMBER 29-DECEMBER 23, 2017
BY MEREDITH WILLSON
we could get out and assess the damage that we escaped catastrophic STUDENTS/EDUCATORS - $10 Sponsored by: MHK Architecture & Planning
damage to our City of Naples.
Irma started to decrease as she moved on and Sunday night about INDIVIDUAL & SEASON TICKETS AVAILABLE
11:30 p.m. some of our first responders ventured out for a very brief Including laugh-out-loud comedies•classic musicals
assessment of what lay ahead for us on Monday.
Today is October 1st. Next month I will do part two of this article SEASON TICKET HOLDERS ENJOY
which will be the post Irma wrap up. I will tell about my heartfelt and PRIORITY SEATING•GUARANTEED BEST PRICES
239-434-7340 OR NAPLESPLAYERS.ORG UNLIMITED FRIENDS AND FAMILY TICKETS AT $35 SUBSCRIBER PRICES
heartbreak experiences and more.
Throughout the last three weeks I am thankful for the wonderful
Nationwide and International e-mails and correspondence that I have THE NAPLES PLAYERS’ SUGDEN THEATRE
received. I am also honored to be your Mayor!
701 5TH AVE. SOUTH • NAPLES • FL 34102 239.263.7990
I do respond to e-mails: mayorbill@naplesgov.com.
Life in Naples | November 2017 9