While my sister, Sherrie Paty Barber, lives closer to Orlando, I, the middle Paty sister, live in Central FL, Highlands County, Sebring. Being some 80 miles south of St. Cloud, that meant Hurricane Irma's winds were still a Catagory 3 when they came through. We spent Sunday night, Sept. 10, in our easy chairs in an inner hallway, hearing numerous tree branches falling on our roof and rolling off. God was merciful, and, while we had more than a handful blow over or snap in two, they fell mostly perpendicular to our house. Our yard was surrounded by moving water heading for Lake Jackson, some 300 feet down the road, but no damage except for part of an end gable of the garage. We were stocked with water and food, but no one can prepare for days without power. Plenty of yard work made us perfectly happy to get up with the sun and go to bed at dark (8 p.m.).

Strangest story? At about 6:30 p.m., Sunday, with winds at 50 mph and gusting more, we saw a barefoot older couple wading down our road.