Concerned About a Fellow Forum Member from Ocala, Florida

shikano53 · Sep 16, 2017

Hi folks, I'm a bit concerned about a fellow forum member who lives in Ocala, Florida in the wake of Irma. His forum name is newbroom AKA Mike, and we generally exchange an email everyday and I haven't heard from him for over a week now. He did say that in the aftermath he might lose power for a bit. He's a pretty regular contributor and I see he hasn't been online for the past 6 days. I've emailed him three times just asking if he is OK and have had no response. I've tried searching online for power outage info in the Ocala area and was just wondering if there are other forum members from southern Florida who could comment on the situation in the area.

No doubt he is safely tucked away smoking his favorite home brewed blend.

Thanks folks.

JimInks · Sep 16, 2017

I've been wondering about him, too. I hope he's okay.

zack24 · Sep 16, 2017

It wouldn't be a surprise for power to be out. In Sarasota, which only got a dirty, nasty sideswipe, there are still many with no power...

pitchfork · Sep 16, 2017

We have family in Naples and they're still without power. We've heard from them by phone, but their daily Facebook routine is on hiatus for now. I wouldn't worry too much.

anthonyrosenthal74 · Sep 16, 2017

Even if power is restored, it could still be quite some time before phone lines, cell towers, or cable/internet services are restored. He's more than likely relaxing with a pipe and thinking, "I wonder what's going on at Pipesmagazine."

JimInks · Sep 16, 2017

I did find a phone number for him, but when I tried calling, all I got was loud static. Obviously, he has no phone and perhaps no power either.

mso489 · Sep 16, 2017

I always enjoy newbroom's posts and share this concern about him. This time of year, lack of power means no air conditioning and no refrigeration or freezers, besides no lights or fans. I am similarly concerned about my cousin and his wife and an elderly neighbor they took in because his house wasn't as sturdy as theirs. They live outside Ft. Myers in Alva, Fla., on the Caloosahatchie River, so I am concerned about both the heat and the river flooding. I think Ft. Myers made it through the hurricane before sunset, which may have helped. I have sent an email and will try calling in the next day or two, but don't want to gum up their phone messages and other work of recovery. I hope newbroom is holding up. People over a certain age don't always handle heat well.

shikano53 · Sep 16, 2017

Thanks folks. I'm sure he will show up once power is restored and cell reception is back as well.

A prayer for all forum members friends and loved ones who have been impacted by Irma.

tbradsim1 · Sep 16, 2017

I hope he's ok.

aldecaker · Sep 16, 2017

Mike's a good guy, and I hope he is doing OK. I wish I lived closer so I could do more than just hope.

balkisobrains · Sep 16, 2017

We had traded some 'baccy and I PM'ed him maybe a day before the hurricane hit to let him know that I got it, and have not heard back from him yet. He thought that he might stay where he was and ride it out, but maybe he evacuated at some point. According to some news reports, Ocala seems to have been hit with a lot of power lines and trees down, probably cell towers too, some flooding, a broken water main, etc.

mso489 · Sep 17, 2017

From news coverage, I take it that restoring power is moving along but is a slow process. Many residences have been restored, but many others have not. Obviously living without a.c., refrigeration, freezers and lights for weeks makes for a hard life. Food and water shortages still abound. The double whammy with Houston and other areas of Texas and La., added to all of Florida and surrounding states, makes for a particularly rough slog. As if out of some kind of sympathy, we have been plagued by a series of power outages in central N.C., just local events, some not even related to rain, that affect 140 or 260 residences. They detoured us this a.m. on the way to church because of repairs. When we got home, the lights were on. Nothing by comparison, but a little reminder.

shikano53 · Sep 17, 2017

MSO, I agree. Up here in central Alberta we don't know how fortunate we are that we don't really experience those kinds of natural disasters. An occasional hail storm, and very occasional tornadoes, but that's about it, and very thankful for it.

As for me, since winter is my favorite season, I say the more snow and cold the merrier!

wyfbane · Sep 17, 2017

Hope he's ok. He is a good guy.

davet · Sep 17, 2017

A prayer for all forum members friends and loved ones who have been impacted by Irma.

+1, I have linemen friends that have travelled down, from New Brunswick, to work on restoring power :worship:

aquadoc · Sep 17, 2017

We have an 80+ foot pine that is at least 60 years old leaning over my childhood home. A small 35 foot oak is holding it up. Tree services want 14-20k to remove. Gouging at its best. Friend lost everything to floodwaters. Power just restored.

ssjones · Sep 17, 2017

I hope newbroom is OK, perhaps he 'll chime in later this week and update. I have a buddy at Cape Coral, on the bay. They had some minor wind damage, but nothing serious and no loss of electricity, sounds like they were lucky.

deathmetal · Sep 17, 2017

The double whammy with Houston and other areas of Texas and La., added to all of Florida and surrounding states, makes for a particularly rough slog.

Luckily, something like 95% of people here never lost power.
Looters, no trash pickup, flood damage and other problems remain, but luckily, most people have had power back relatively quickly.
Poor Florida looks like it was hit worse by winds and less by rain.

alexnorth · Sep 18, 2017

I feel for all of you who are affected by this terrible weather situation. I hope newbroom is ok and is heard of soon! Living in northern Europe this type of extreme weather is very foreign to me but I've seen the carnage on the news. Our best wishes for all of you!

JimInks · Sep 18, 2017

Newbroom showed up in the WAYS thread. He's okay!

Concerned About a Fellow Forum Member from Ocala, Florida

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