As we approach the one year anniversary of Hurricane Michael’s landing on our shores, I can’t help but reflect on the ride we have been on since that day. Together, and with the help of others, we’ve put this area back together as best we can thus far. We worked endlessly on our homes and businesses. We’ve aided others with their homes and businesses. We’ve said “goodbye” to friends who, for whatever reasons, just couldn’t stay. In a way, we all said “goodbye” to a way of life we knew before the storm. Once all the repairs and fixes are complete, once all the signs of storm damage are gone and once we hit that old normal stride we called life back then, we will still never be the same.
We survived through destruction that few will ever know. We witnessed the best and worst in people. We came together and made the best of everyday in the midst of great loss. There are way too many people deserving of thanks to list here, so I only hope I was able to thank them properly when I had the chance.
It’s said that there’s a silver lining to every cloud. While most of us struggle to find the positive that came from this hurricane, I’ve found that searching out the good is a helpful way to cope with the aftermath. We all lost money, property and even people we cherished, but to think that no good came out of it all would be a mistake. Perhaps the best things that have come are the relationships formed with friends and neighbors. We were bound by trauma and we rose to the challenge together.
One small silver lining, perhaps meaningless to some, that I’ve come to know since last October is in East Bay. There’s a pair of very large trees that now lay on the edge of a shallow grassy flat. They’re long trunks and limbs extend well out into the bay providing cover for fish. This year I’ve gone there many mornings to try my luck. Nearly every time I go, if I can get a cast to the right spot between those trees, it’s almost a guaranteed top-water bite from a redfish. I’ll take every silver lining I can get.
Kudos to all of you, and there are many, that weathered the storm, helped a neighbor, shared your fortune, fed a stranger or just managed a smile when you felt your worst. All of these things came from me and to me in many ways and I am forever grateful for the experiences that came with this…oddly enough, for the bad ones too. Resiliency is not just a tag word, it’s real, and it’s alive and well in the people of this community. I’m proud to be a member of this exclusive club.
On behalf of all of us from Coastal Angler Magazine, we wish you all the best in your continued recovery efforts and that you too can see your silver lining, but I’m not telling anyone where those trees are!
~ Capt. Randy “C-note” Cnota