Batten down the hatches

[Econoline]

Oh, look! A blow-hard being run out of Florida by another blow-hard.


(Shamelessly stolen from someone somewhere else on the InterFaceWebs.)

[BoSoxGal]

This place has been on my literary pilgrimages bucket list since high school; it will probably be gone by Sunday.

[RayThom]

Yep, it looks like it may very well be the end of something. This landmark home may soon be found across the river and into the trees. Sad.

[Econoline]

I saw that story too, but it might be Fake News. There's this:

Workers, cats staying at Hemingway Home & Museum during Hurricane Irma

Workers at the house that famed author Ernest Hemingway once lived in told FOX23 many of them are going to stay in the house during Hurricane Irma.

Dan Gonzales is the public relations director for the Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, Florida. He said some employees volunteered to stay at the house during the storm. "Basically we have 10 employees, that are staying here on staff and it's because all the lower Florida keys, people should evacuate." The employees will be at the house with the estimated 54 cats that live on the grounds. Many of the famed Hemingway cats have six toes and are descendants of a cat once owned by Ernest Hemingway.

The GM of the property told FOX23 they never left for a storm. Gonzales said the Hemingway home is in an unusual situation, "We have a very unusual situation here, The Hemingway home sits at 16 feet above sea level and it's built out of 18 inch blocks of limestone." He said it's been there since 1851 with no damage.

Officials did bless the home before the rest of the area evacuated, Gonzales put a picture up on the home's Facebook page.

"Generally someone always stays here during a hurricane. Anywhere from 2 to, today 10 members of our staff. In fact, this was a safer place for them to be," Gonzales said.

He said much of the town and area around them seems like a ghost town, but they plan on posting on their Facebook page as long as they have connection.

"A lot of true born conchs, that's what we're called here in Key West, when you're born here, A lot of them have always stayed. But this is one of the first storms I've heard a few of them say they're not staying for this particular one."

Construction crews did board up the windows on the property.

[BoSoxGal]

I hope they all make out okay, but Irma has leveled many very solid historic and modern structures so I'm not optimistic. I think it was very foolhardy for them to stay and the curator should not have encouraged it.

[BoSoxGal]

[Jarlaxle]

I saw that story too, but it might be Fake News. There's this:

Workers, cats staying at Hemingway Home & Museum during Hurricane Irma

Workers at the house that famed author Ernest Hemingway once lived in told FOX23 many of them are going to stay in the house during Hurricane Irma.

Dan Gonzales is the public relations director for the Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, Florida. He said some employees volunteered to stay at the house during the storm. "Basically we have 10 employees, that are staying here on staff and it's because all the lower Florida keys, people should evacuate." The employees will be at the house with the estimated 54 cats that live on the grounds. Many of the famed Hemingway cats have six toes and are descendants of a cat once owned by Ernest Hemingway.

The GM of the property told FOX23 they never left for a storm. Gonzales said the Hemingway home is in an unusual situation, "We have a very unusual situation here, The Hemingway home sits at 16 feet above sea level and it's built out of 18 inch blocks of limestone." He said it's been there since 1851 with no damage.

Officials did bless the home before the rest of the area evacuated, Gonzales put a picture up on the home's Facebook page.

"Generally someone always stays here during a hurricane. Anywhere from 2 to, today 10 members of our staff. In fact, this was a safer place for them to be," Gonzales said.

He said much of the town and area around them seems like a ghost town, but they plan on posting on their Facebook page as long as they have connection.

"A lot of true born conchs, that's what we're called here in Key West, when you're born here, A lot of them have always stayed. But this is one of the first storms I've heard a few of them say they're not staying for this particular one."

Construction crews did board up the windows on the property.

It has stood through worse...the Labor Day storm of 1935 hit with 185MPH sustained winds. It also has survived Andrew, the 1919 Keys hurricane, Donna, and dozens of others. Honestly...a building made of 18" stone blocks strikes me as a pretty good place to ride out a hurricane.

[Crackpot]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/rush-limbaug ... 27581.html

It has been a long time since I listened to Rush. Now I wish I had been listening lately. I would have learned that East-coast liberal elites like me have amazing powers. All these hurricanes are just fake news to drum up support for the fake news about climate change. Maybe I should dig out my old Birkenstock sandals.

snailgate

I fail to see the downside of this. Those who don't evacuate and die because of it is probably a net gain to the collective intelligence of the country and those who stay and manage to survive will likely learn a valuable lesson about the value of the shit that comes from his mouth.

[Scooter]

And when people question why anyone would choose to stay put:

[BoSoxGal]

I hope the house survives - especially since 10 people decided to stay inside of it - but very strong buildings were destroyed on other islands, so . . .

And here, she says she wouldn't have stayed except for her obligation to the house and cats - although Hemingway's granddaughter begged her to leave:

Actress Mariel Hemingway is begging the elderly manager of her famed grandfather’s historic Key West home to evacuate before Hurricane Irma hits Florida.

The granddaughter of legendary author Ernest Hemingway called it “heartbreaking and absolutely wonderful” that Jacqui Sands, the 72-year-old manager of the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, has vowed to ride out the deadly storm for the sake of the 19th-century residence and its 50-plus cats, but she wants Sands to hit the road.

“I mean, it’s really frightening. I really think that this hurricane is a big deal,” Hemingway told TMZ in an exclusive interview published Friday.

In speaking about Sands, the Oscar-nominated actress said: “I think that you’re a wonderful and admirable person for trying to stay there and save the cats and save the house and all that stuff, but ultimately it’s just a house. Save the cats. Get all the cats in the car and take off.”

Sands told the Washington Post this week that she isn’t going anywhere even as the powerful, now-Category 4 storm makes its way toward Florida.

“If I didn’t have to, I wouldn’t stay,” Sands told the newspaper. “My kids told me to get the hell out. But I have an obligation to take care of the building and the cats.”

A mandatory evacuation order has been issued for the Keys, where the storied Hemingway estate is located.

The sprawling, Queen Anne-style Victorian house, built in 1851, is home to more than 50 cats, many of which are six- and seven-toed.

Sands plans to hunker down in the residence with the kitties and a team of nine employees.

“They couldn’t leave because either they don’t have a car or couldn’t find a flight out of here,” Sands told the news outlet. “I think we are going to be fine.”

[rubato]

And when people question why anyone would choose to stay put:

... "

And that is after they opened up both side of the fwy for north-bound traffic. wow.


yrs,
rubato

[dales]

Looks like many SF Bay Area freeways during commute time.

[BoSoxGal]

Watching coverage on and off today, CNN and MSNBC - I'm terrified. I hope I'm really wrong about this, but I think the death toll from this storm could be very high - too many people aren't leaving. 15 foot storm surge is going to swallow them up.

I have a really, really bad feeling.

[Jarlaxle]

And when people question why anyone would choose to stay put:

I would much rather be home than in my car in a hurricane.

[Econoline]

Honestly...a building made of 18" stone blocks strikes me as a pretty good place to ride out a hurricane.

Yeah, me too.

This particular house was obviously designed and built to survive the strongest imaginable hurricane and sited to survive the highest conceivable storm surge, and it's had 166 years to (successfully, repeatedly) prove itself.

[BoSoxGal]

Hopefully you're right - I'd still like to see it before I die.

[Gob]

Is there any chance it will hit New Orleans?

One of my colleagues just flew out to NO as her "holiday of a lifetime.".

[Lord Jim]

She'll be fine...

New Orleans is nearly 700 miles northwest from Tampa FL where the storm is now expected to have one of it's largest impacts, (after hitting shore along the coast of southwest Florida, a couple of hundred miles further south)



There isn't enough space left over water or time for Irma to make that radical a change from it's projected trajectory.

[Gob]

Thanks Jim.

[dales]

Hopefully you're right - I'd still like to see it before I die.

You will, I'd bet money on it!