Lightning Capital of the USA

When we checked in here at the idyllic Cedar Cove Resort here on Anna Maria Island , Jim the Manager told us to beware of the weather on the beach as we were in the lightning capital of the USA. Since it is part of Jim’s thing to yack it up with the guests, I dismissed it as just a friendly, chatty observation.

Turns out, he was absolutely serious. We’ve watched lightning storms over the Gulf and Sarasota Bay every night. One of the cottages next door has a newly patched hole in its roof from a lightning strike last week. When we were sitting on the patio the other evening, storm watching, we were chased in by a lightning strike that sounded much too close for comfort. We learned later that it had blasted a downspout off the resort office, so it was too close indeed.

Florida leads the nation in lightning fatalities each year. The great majority of incidents occur in June/July/August. The area from Tampa to Titusville (around Cape Canaveral) is known as Lightning Alley. Floriday has averaged about a million and a half lightning strikes each year. That doesn't include the lightning flashes that don't hit the ground-- and there have been many more flashes that don't hit in the storms we've been watching.

The temperature of a lightning bolt is 50,000 degrees, nearly five times the heat of the sun’s surface. The average length of a cloud-to-ground lightning strike is 6 miles.
Stats about lightning strike victims:
98% were outside
89% were male
30% were males between the ages of 20-25
25% were standing under a tree
25% occurred on or near the water

So, young men out by a tree next to the lake, beware or be fried.

Tampa’s hockey team is named the Lightning, and now you know why.

The likelihood of a team from Florida becoming hockey champions is about the same as the chance of getting struck by lightning? The Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup in 2004, in their 12th year of existence.

Just sayin'.

Later, Gator. I'm off to the beach.

Island Economics

The main activity for the day was sailing on Palma Sola Bay and on into the Gulf. To get to the boat club, you turn off the island main road, cross the bay and head east past the access road that is under construction (just like home, nobody working) and drive through a subdivision to return to the edge of the bay. On the way, Mrs. Purple Flag on Saturday saw a brochure tube for a house for sale and couldn't resist. Just reduced, to $1,999,000.00.

Pass.

Out on the boat, a catamaran, we passed through two drawbridges on our way to the Gulf. Bridge tender appears to be a more boring job than being a toll collector.

While out on the boat, I chatted up the captain and learned a little island economics. We paid for the trip with cash. He was setting aside money to pay for fixing his truck, the repairs coming from a mechanic friend who would be paid in cash.

If there was no evening booking on the sailboat, he said he might go work the sort on the fish docks. There, for three or so hours work, he'd bring home a five gallon bucket filled with freshly caught from the gulf Jumbo shrimp for the freezer.

Life on the island has some tangible intangible advantages, and for a lot less than $2 million.

Anna Maria Has Her Way

Here we are, just another day in paradise on Anna Maria Island. There’s a lot of living going on out on this sandbar. This is the not too busy season. There’s a lot of empty parking lots at the cottages and condos. Winter and spring must be crazy crowded and busy here.

Watching the weather out over the Gulf is pretty intriguing. You can see storm centers brew up, with giant high thunderheads in one place heading in one direction while a big dark storm center gathers in another area and heads off in its own direction.

The perception of weather is pretty interesting, too. Tropical storm Eduardo is pretty tame to all the weather people on the tube down here. We turned on WGN Superstation and their talking heads credited Eduardo with much bigger muscles.

There were big, big storms back at home this evening. Meanwhile, lightning strikes entertained us out over the Gulf.

BTW, Maureen, the checkout lady at Publix, recognized us today.

Hmmm..... I’m amused by watching the weather and getting chummy with the old lady at the grocery store.

Is this what retirement is like?

Doing What We Do Best

Today NADM comes to you from Cedar Cove Resort, Anna Maria Island, FLA, USA. It’s an hour from Tampa airport and light years from the rest of the world as we know it. The Gulf of Mexico is in front of us, Palma Sola Bay is behind us. Fresh seafood, gulf breezes, and friendly people are the order of the day.

Getting here, the world exacted its price. We fly infrequently these days and thank heaven. At 4:30 a.m. O’Hare is buzzing with activity, and activity in USA 2008 means subjecting oneself to various indignities in order to get from one place to another.

My god-daughter is traveling with us. She bought her plane ticket after we did. As a reward, American Airlines charged her fifteen bucks to check her bag. Nothing extraordinary about the bag, it’s just the new air travel economy.

I brought my computer on the trip, jamming it in the bag that I carry back and forth to work each day. In the bag is a pocket knife that my daughter brought me from Toledo, Spain. I forgot that the knife was in there. The friendly folks at the TSA found it after a 20 minute examination. It’s a glorified letter opener, but rules are rules, and I understand.

American Airlines understands, too: Twenty five bucks to check it as extra baggage!

So, we were down 40 bucks before we got on the plane. I did a lot better in the Vegas airport, and they have slot machines everywhere.

Remember the slogan?

“We’re American Airlines
Doing what we do best”

Yes, indeed.

Celebrity Madness

How many celebrities have you met, and how did you behave? After the last two days of going thru my "5's", I was thinking about celebs I've encountered and what they thought of the encounter. Going to a "meet the actor/athlete/etc" event doesn't count here, only chance encounters doing what you would have been doing anyway.

We met the actress who played Weezie on the Jeffersons, standing in line with us at DisneyWorld years back. No biggie for either of us, but a pleasant encounter.

Met NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip while we were each paying our bill at a Cracker Barrel. I acted like starstruck teenager, and he's not even that big a deal. My spouse was chatty and charming. I was a nitwit.

Met TV race announcer Jeff Hammond in an elevator. He was extremely charming, made his wife hold all his stuf so he could autograph pictures for everyone. I didn't get stupid this time.

Met Blackhawks' coach Denis Savard a few times. We chatted, he's a good guy.

Years back, met then White Sox manager Tony LaRussa in a bar. He bought drinks.

Met Bill Veeck back at old Comiskey while I was buying tickets, late in winter when no one was around. He invited me and my sidekick to join him for lunch. We had to get back to work. I will regret that decision forever.

Ran into then Governor Jim Thompson on the street one evening. It's a good story for another time.

That's a pretty short list.

Who have you encountered?