I was bone tired, filthy dirty, hungry and thirsty. Four hours of slinging sand bags in the rain will do that to you. I wiped the water from my eyes for the millionth time and looked around. The guy who had been working next to me for the last hour or two was slumped on the ground. I sank down beside him. He had about worked me to death handing me bags for me to place. I looked down the wall of the school building. We were done. All the doors had sand bags up about two feet in front of them. The wind was starting to pick up a little. I stood and tapped the guy on the shoulder and saw his head lift. I stuck my hand down and he grabbed it. I pulled him up. I hadn't realized he was so short. I leaned over and yelled, "We need to find shelter, I don't even know where we are. Do you?"
He nodded and started off to our left pulling me along. I saw the truck I had come with pass us heading down the street. The rain jacket the guy ahead of me was wearing was really flapping and snapping from the wind now, My rain parka had long since ripped to shreds and been discarded. I was led to a large house. The windows were covered with plywood and it looked ready for anything.
He pulled at the door but the wind was against the large door and he only got it open a little ways. I grabbed it and held it while he slipped in, then I followed him in. The wind slammed the door shut. My buddy had disappeared and I leaned against the door dripping on the floor.
A pretty young woman stuck her head around the corner and beckoned me. I followed her and she led me to a bath room. She said, "Wait." She was back in a minute with a large towel and a terry robe. She said, " hurry and shower before the power goes off. Hand me your clothes out the door and I'll see if we have time to wash and dry them before we loose power." I said, "Thanks. You are a jewel." She grinned at me and shut the door."
The hot shower felt great. The mud ran off in streams at first but cleared pretty fast. I had a quick scrub and was out of the shower so I wouldn't use it all up or get caught all soaped up with the power off and no water. The robe was a little small for me but felt great.
I opened the door to the bathroom and looked both ways. No sign of life either way. I decided to try the way I thought I had entered from. I walked down the hall and finally heard voices. I entered a kitchen and it was empty. I heard the voices from a door and looked out into a garage. Several people were looking at something on the floor. I walked over and looked too. They were looking at a portable generator. They were trying to figure out how to start it up. I said, "Can I help. I have had several of those over the years and I might be able to get it going." Four women looked at me and smiled. "Be our guest." I stooped and checked it out. It was full of what appeared to be fresh gas. I found a switch labeled ON-OFF and put it to ON. I reached under the gas tank and found the fuel shut off lever and turned it on. I pushed the choke lever on and grabbed the starter cord and put my foot on a wheel and gave a hard pull. Nothing! I tried again. Nothing! I looked at it again and found the spark plug wire off. I put it on and pulled on the cord again. This time I was rewarded with a pop and a short run. I turned the choke off and pulled again. The generator roared to life. I looked at all the ladies and took a short bow. I let it run a few minutes then shut it off.
I looked at them again. "You can't run it inside here. When you need it you will have to put it out side some where." I followed them into the kitchen and got my first good look at them. They were all very lovely. The youngest was the girl who showed me the bathroom. She grinned and said "Thanks Major Thomas Sanchez, we would never have figured it out."
"Hey! How do you know my name?"
She grinned, "I took your billfold out of your pants and it was very wet so I spread every thing out to dry."
"Thank you very much. I am not really a Major anymore though. I was just retired."
"What happened?"
"They have no use for one eyed pilots. So I'm out of work. I have a question. How is the guy I was working with. He about wore me out."
"That was Jane, right here." She put her hand on a very attractive lady standing next to her. She smiled at me and laughed. "I am the guy, and you were really great. You did work me into the ground. If you hadn't lifted me I would still be sitting out there. And we know what you are talking about, we are all Marine wives, or were. We are two wives and two widows."
What could I say except, "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."
"There is nothing to forgive you for. You didn't do any wrong."
A gust of wind rattled the whole house it seemed.
I looked at them, "How far is it to the School Transportation Office from here? "
Jane smiled, "Too far. You can't walk it. I would be afraid to drive now, so you are going to have to ride it out with us."
I smiled at them and said, "Ladies, I can't think of a more delightful and beautiful group to ride out a hurricane with. I have met Jane. So Jane you have to introduce me to the other ladies."
Jane grinned and put her hand on the shoulder of the oldest woman, "this is my Aunt Mary. She owns the house. Next to her is her daughter Francis, and this girl is her youngest daughter Sarah." Francis and I are the widows. So keep your hands off the other two." She giggled, "I didn't mean you could put your hands on us."
I grinned right back, "Shucks! I thought that was an open invitation, now I am not sure where to put my hands, maybe I better just sit on them."
The lights went off, then came right back on. I said, "If you have a flash light and oil lamps or candles, this would be a good time to get them ready."
The house shook with another gust and the wind noise got louder.
"Have you weathered Hurricanes here before? Do you remember where the generator was put to run?"
Mary said her husband put it on the screened porch. She led me to a door and pointed out the little window. Rain was pelting that side of the house. It didn't look like a good spot during this storm. I told them that I thought that we would leave it in the garage for now. We could open the door a little and run it with out getting drowned while starting it up. Mary told me her husband had a special cord he made to plug into the house where the clothes drier plugged in. Then he had the circuits breakers that had to be shut off painted red. That left lights, hot water and the refrigerator and TV working. The microwave would still work as would one small burner on the stove.
I told them that It sounded good to me.
We sat in the family room. There were lots of Marine Corps mementos and pictures there. Jane sat beside me on the couch. She asked me what my plans were now that I was a civilian.
"I don't really have any plans. I don't know what I want to do with my life. I guess I will go back to North Central Florida. I was born there and own property there that I inherited from my parents. I have a huge farm there I know nothing about how to run. I went to the Naval Academy right out of high school. I have never had a job except as a Marine fighter pilot, and like I said, I can't do that anymore. I am really sort of at a loss, I don't know what to do."
Mary asked, "Where is your farm in Florida? I went to the University of Florida in Gainesville."
"Have you ever heard of a little town called Fort McCoy?
"Let me think, is it north east of Ocala about fifteen or twenty miles? I had a very good friend at college who was from there. I went there with her several times. Her name was Francis Baker."
I grinned, "That was my Mother."
"You are Frannie's son? I lost track of her twenty five years ago, a couple years after you were born I think. I can't believe this. You said your parents are dead?"
"Yes they were killed in a car crash when I was twelve years old. My grandparents took me in. They were great."
"I remember Frannie's parents, Fred and Sandra, I think."