December 6, 2018
My love letter to
Panama City Florida
57 days after
Hurricane Michael
Four…
That is the number
of years that it will take for my beloved home ocean to return to
normalcy…at least that is what I heard when I was there last week.
Hopefully, it will take less time. My information is based on what I
have heard and/or read, so if my information is inaccurate, I mean no
ill will or harm.
My hope for Bay
County is that she comes back stronger and more successful than ever
before.
Here’s my personal
story and why I am writing this love letter:
Born in Virginia, I
was raised in a big city and a small town – both were very
different from each other. Even as a child, I didn’t like either
place. These areas were too busy or too rural and both too cold for
my personal comfort level. Warm weather is a good reason to move to
Florida.
My Aunt and Uncle
had discovered the touristy beach town of Panama City Florida in the
1970’s and made it their home.. My Aunt still lives there and my
Uncle lived there until his death last year. He had a thriving auto
repair service in Lynn Haven for many years. His ads in the paper
talked about how his pricing was based on how much makeup his wife
bought!
When I first came to
Panama City in the 1970’s (yes, I am old), it was in February.
Although the locals thought that it was too chilly to go to the
beach, I felt like I was in paradise. Bright sunshine, warm breezes,
palm trees, the smell of salt in the air and the Gulf of Mexico. I
brought shorts, t-shirts and a swimsuit. Locals knew right away that
this was my first visit to town based on my outfit. I first learned
about the classic Floridian winter attire: Shorts, flip-flops with
two straps instead of just one and a sweatshirt/hoodie.
I fell completely
and utterly in love with Panama City. I also became a Florida State
University Seminole fan.
Please keep on
reading, even if you are a Gator…
We played mini golf
on the beach, went shopping at the mall and picked up Big Sam’s
chicken (now called Popeye’s) for our dinner on the first night of
our visit. I discovered and fell in love with my most favorite food
on the planet: OYSTERS. These are just a few of the traditions that
were carried on until I made the permanent move to Panama City in
1986. Shortly after I moved to the Southport neighborhood, the space
shuttle exploded. I found it odd that I had just moved to get away
from the cold and cold weather was responsible for the seals failing
on the shuttle…Florida and the nation were heartbroken that day.
As the years of my
living in Bay County increased, my living in Virginia became a
distant memory. During the following years, more of my family
members relocated to Bay County, all so happy to be away from the
cold weather and near the World’s Mosr Beautiful Beach!
In my 20’s
(remember, I am old), I was the girl that kept the following items in
the trunk of my car at all times: a bikini, beach towels, Hawaiian
Tropic suntan oil, sunglasses, FSU ball cap, battery operated radio,
one of those tri-folding beach chairs that clicked backwards to move
forwards and a cooler with beer koozies, of course.
I remember when the
Florida lottery started up. I remember the bumper stickers “I’ll
buckle up when Ted Bundy does”…in reference to the newly passed
seat belts laws, the serial killer and “Sparky”, the electric
chair used for the death penalty. I remember “travelers’ from
when I worked on the Anderson Dinner Cruise Boat at Grand Lagoon.
Jack Daniels and Coke…don’t worry, I waited until I got home to
imbibe….okay…almost home, but it was the 80’s…we’ve all
done it! I remember getting Pina Colada sodas from the Junior stores
that were on EVERY corner, grocery shopping at Winn-Dixie,
Albertsons and Delchamps.
I remember going to
lunch with my work buddies from the banks that I worked in over the
years: Jade East, Po Folks, The Cheesebarn, Hunt’s Oyster Bar, The
Place on Grace, Harbor House for their seafood casserole, Pizza Hut,
House of Seafood, Lyndavon’s: AUCE Mullet, House of Chan and my
favorite place for seafood: Penny’s Seafood in Southport!
I waited tables on
the beach for 7 years at the Golden Anchor, Mariner and the Fore and
Aft. I remember going out to Chan’s, Black Angus, Spinnaker and
LaVela and the Breakers to watch the band Clutch perform songs which
are now classified as “yacht rock”…18 to enter, 21 to drink –
LOL! After shift and after nights out dancing, meals at Coram’s
Steak and Egg, or the Waffle House were always delicious. Going to
bonfires on the beach until the cops would come along and make us put
out the flames. Watching sunburned tourists walk around in pain and
seeing people in bathing suits with toilet seat impressions because
they didn’t hover!
Last week, I drove
around the area to see the damage. I was not prepared at all for
what I saw…
Shooketh, or
biblically shook is a humorous term that I use…but this was not a
funny time.
Most of the
restaurants are still closed because they are heavily damaged or
completely destroyed. So many cooks and wait staff folks are out of a
job. Waitress/waiters in Panama City make good money. I know because
I made good tips years ago.
Most of the Panama
City Mall is closed. My memories of Gayfers, Casual Corner, Petite
Sophisticate, Lerners, 5-7-9, Buddy Harris shoes, Orange Julius,
Claire’s, Hickory Farms during Christmas time, Spencer’s Gifts
and Wicker Picker are all that remain. Going to the movies and
watching the “late night freak show” when the punks wearing all
black clothing, spiked hair and latch pins in their noses would walk
around the food court on Friday nights.
The Panama City Mall
is closing. 500 retail workers are out of a job because their place
of employment is heavily damaged or completely destroyed. Not sure
what they will do with that property or the Dillard’s that is
actually open.
Bay Medical is
partially closing. So many medical professionals are out of a job
because their place of employment is heavily damaged or completely
destroyed. My family is filled with nurses. Three generations of
family means someone has been in Bay Medical hospital as a patient or
was born there over the decades.
Tyndall Air Force
Base is partially open. It will be a while before full operations
return, so I’ve been told. If you watched Fox News and Shepard
Smith report on the hurrican, then you saw Shep describe the concrete
block buildings at TAFB and the surrounding business on Tyndall
Parkway. Shep used to be a reporter in Panama City back in the day.
His personal experience of living there really described what was
happening in Bay County during the storm. The eye of the hurricane
went right over TAFB.
Watching hurricane
coverage on television is one thing, seeing the aftermath that
remains almost 2 months after the storm is surreal…like something
that you would see in a movie.
Banks and drug
stores are closed or operating out of tents because they are heavily
damaged or completely destroyed. My uncle’s old auto repair shop is
destroyed as well.
So many people have
lost their homes, have damaged vehicles and now lost their jobs. So
many people did not have insurance to cover the damages to their
homes, property and vehicles. And no job means no income to help
with expensive repairs. Some people are getting help from FEMA and
Dsnap, but they need more than money, they need physical help.
I moved away from
Panama City in the late 90’s when I got married. I come back to
town often since my family still lives there and I own rental
properties there. I came to Panama City last week to start the
repair processes on my houses in Bayou George and Callaway.
My family members
experienced various levels of damage from the storm: minor damage and
lots of trees down to complete destruction of their homes. One cousin
drives around with a saran wrap windshield because the storm. Many do
not have land line phone service or internet, which is a must in the
21st century.
Long time friends of
my family have moved out of Bay County because their home was
destroyed or their place of employment was destroyed, moving because
they don’t have places available for them to live or work. There
are tent cities around the Bay County area because people have no
money to even leave the area. And it was freezing temperatures at
night when I was there last week. My uncle was in Bay Medical as a
patient and was evacuated to a hospital in Crestview Florida, 90
miles away. His nursing home in Panama City was destroyed and will
be staying in the Crestview area for a long time. His home in Lynn
Haven was completely destroyed and a land developer has already
offered him cash to purchase his home, level it and build a new house
on the lot.
Everything, and I
mean everything has been affected by the hurricane. Roads, signs,
buildings, streets, businesses, docks…I got lost a couple of times
because I couldn’t tell where I was on 23rd street –
most of the “landmarks” are unrecognizable or have disappeared
completely. As I was driving it was hard not to stare – I would
see a building and think, “Oh! It looks oka—oh, nope. The roof
(or side) would be completely missing. I would look at a building
and see that it was no longer “square”, slightly leaning, yet in
tact for the most part. Metal roofs were peeled up like a foil yogurt
cup lid. “Forever” tile roofs have large sections of tiles that
are just gone. I saw so many large diameter trees that had snapped
from the storm. I saw live oaks that had completely upended and
lifted up entire front yards. The trees that remain standing have no
leaves, are leaning like the Tower of Pisa or have died in place.
Because of that, you can see houses that you never knew existed and
in some areas you now have a water view because homes and trees no
longer block your line of sight to the bay. The sound of generators,
chain saws and “claw” trucks (debris removal) fill the air. I
went around with my mouth open, repeating the words “this is
crazy”, over and over again. I tried to describe the widespread
damage to my ex-pat friends from Panama City… all I could come up
with is:”there are no words”.
It doesn’t look or
sound like the holiday season in Bay County.
There wasn’t the
Black Friday shopping madness that occurs starting on Thanksgiving
day. No 4:00am “hot now” Krispy Kreme donut break from shopping
because Krispy Kreme is closed. No Hardee’s biscuit for breakfast
because it was also closed. No one has Christmas lights on their
homes. There are no Christmas decorations on the street lights. In
some areas there aren’t any street lights standing or the ones that
are standing are not working. No piped Christmas music as you enter
stores to shop. Lynn Haven had their Christmas tree up, which was
heartwarming to see.
Driving over power
lines is scary at first, but then you realize that they are still
laying around everywhere and are not live, so you drive over them
anyway. Driving down the main roads and through neighborhoods you see
piles and piles of various types: trees/branches,
appliances/vehicles, metal items, furniture, black garbage bags and
housing materials. Lots of homes now have campers parked in front of
them. People are living in these while they wait for their homes to
be fixed. So many homes have been declared unsafe to inhabit due to
mold or catastrophic damage. Bay County residents have to sort the
items so that the county (or feds) will come pick it up and take it
to recycling stations or one of the many giant mulch piles located
around the county. Traffic, at least in town, has never been bad in
comparison to beach holiday traffic. Now, traffic is heavy and filled
with trucks with out of state license plates and with the words
“roofing/tree removal/mold remediation/drywall/plumbing”…I
could go on and on. Of the few places to shop or eat, many are still
on a cash only basis with limited menu items and semi filled shelves.
Gas pumps are always crowded with work trucks getting filled up for
the day. Bay County installed those newer type of traffic light bars
years ago. Have you ever seen one of these metal bars twisted and
broken? I have. Doesn’t seem possible, much less real. Oh, yes,
you have to try to remember to get home before dark. It makes it
easier to avoid the debris piles and see which road you need to turn
down, since the signs and street lighting are gone. Remember, I told
you earlier it’s very easy to be disoriented and not know where you
are anymore…
I walked through the
Walmart and the Publix when I was in town. Every conversation that I
passed was about the hurricane. Specifically, about how the insurance
companies were only giving folks a certain amount of money to make
repairs, and how that amount wasn’t enough to make repairs because
the amounts were based on pre-hurricane pricing. “Pre-hurricane
pricing” is a phrase I heard everywhere. Roofers that charged
$20.00 per hour are now charging $30.00 per hour. A stack of roofing
materials that used to cost $1,000.00, now cost $1,500.00. And good
luck in finding an available contractor of any kind to repair your
home…get on the wait list is the answer you hear…and hope you
have enough insurance money to cover the repairs. One contractor
quoted me the price of $3,200.00 to put a blue tarp on my house in
Callaway….are you kidding me?
The Army Corp of
Engineers put a blue tarp on my home for free. For this gesture of
kindness and generosity, I will forever be grateful. Many people
probably didn’t even know about his service since internet is very
limited and overloaded. Cell phone towers were destroyed. Smaller,
temporary towers have been brought in. Service is spotty as all cell
phone service carriers are trying to use a handful of cell towers all
at once. Remember, lots of people don’t have land line phone
service.
Most of the schools
are heavily damaged. The kids of Bay County have to attend school in
shifts. Some go early in the morning and the others are in school
until dinnertime. Various churches that were damaged are sharing
their buildings with churches that were destroyed, so you can go to a
Baptist service and a Methodist service in the same building.
The people of Bay
County are sad and worried about their homes, livelihoods and lives.
No one is wearing Christmas shirts, no Santa hats or reindeer antler
headbands. Vehicles are dirty, people’s shoes are dirty and the
formerly pristine roads, streets and bridges are covered with debris.
And my short visit
surely did not reveal all of the damages of Bay County. I am
probably missing a lot of topics that should be discussed, or at
least brought up for discussion.
I was still living
in Panama City in October 1995 when Hurricane Opal hit. The beach
took a bigger hit than town. I remember one of my favorite places to
go was “U-turn Sunburn Saloon”. It was destroyed during
Hurricane Opal. The only thing that remained standing on that
property is a sign that read, “No coolers”. It has never been
rebuilt. There are many other businesses that never recovered from
Opal.
That is my fear for
Panama City now. Will businesses rebuild? Will Panama City recover
from this catastrophic hurricane? I certainly hope so. I saw the
solidarity of the people of Bay County when we were parked on Highway
231 South for many hours, waiting to get back home after Hurricane
Opal hit in October 1995. Some of those people parked on the highway
are living in Bay County today. And we thought Opal was bad…
I know that lives of
kids and young adults today is very different than hanging out in the
mall or heading to the beach every Saturday morning. It makes me a
little sad to know that their memories will be filled with the
devastating hurricane in 2018 that changed the lives and livelihoods
of their families and friends, instead of hanging out at the mall on
a Friday night or rather texting and Snapchatting their friends on a
Friday night.
It is my opinion
that many of the fine people of Bay County Florida are still
experiencing Hurricane Michael, every day.
Al Rocker of NBC was
there last week to give thanks to the many relief workers. I heard
that there are some concerts planned. There are relief stations and
places to get food, water and temporary wi-fi sprinkled throughout
the city. There are insurance companies that have set up temporary
locations to help locals with their claims. There are also pop-up
clinics to help those with medical needs.
When Katrina hit New
Orleans, my father and his friends from church went over to Pass
Christian for MONTHS to help. Utility trucks from all over came to
get power back on when the storm first hit.
It seems that the
outside help has dried up for the most part…I hope that I am wrong,
but this is my personal observation, not necessarily fact.
American Red Cross
and Salvation Army are there, but can only do so much. Many local
religious and civic are handing out supplies from their own damaged
buildings. Local people are helping each other with whatever
resources they have or they are going to certain locations to hire
help for the day. Licensed, bonded and insured contractors aren’t
always readily available and some people have been victims of bad
businesses taking money and not doing the work.
When I got back home
to Virginia (yes, I am back despite my disdain for cold
temperatures), I felt compelled to write this op-ed. I wanted to
bring attention to a place that you or someone you know has been to
on spring break or watched MTV Spring Break back in the day, for
flight training at TAFB, attended GCCC college or visited relatives.
For those who
personally know me, you know that tears are not something that I
usually shed. I had to stop and cry several times while writing this
love letter.
Please feel free to
share my love letter in hopes of bringing attention to my home
ocean…mermaid speak for where my heart resides.
That is, my broken
heart.
Pictures to follow.
Especially,
Tamara Phipps
Former Bay County
Resident
Current Bay County
Property Owner and Tax Payer
Student of Gulf
Coast Community College
Fan of Florida State
Seminoles
Mermaid from the
Gulf of Mexico
Lover of Bay County
Florida…now and forever.
#850strong
#panhandlestrong
#panamacitystrong
#thatwhichdoesnotkillusmakesusstronger
