It has been a season, and then some. I read on SDN that St. George (on Grenada) sent all their students home before Ivan hit, that they’ll resume classes at the end of September, but that students are being encouraged to take advantage of an option not to return until January. Wow.
Closer to home, my 22 y/o son, the aspiring Naval aviator, was told Monday afternoon to get the he11 out of Pensacola. That sure looks like a good call (cough, an understatement). He and his Hokie friends went to Blacksburg (why not?? they arrived Tuesday for a football game that won’t be played til Saturday, but who’s counting?). Now they are waiting to find out when they’ll be able to get back in and start cleaning up. 
He has heard that they may be without power for WEEKS, definitely not a pleasant prospect.
The devastation of these storms is mind-boggling. I am counting my blessings here.
Mary
Hey Mary RR,
I was thinking of your son as I watched the news reports of Ivan and Pensacola. I remember Charlottesville and Isabelle just last year and I can’t imagine the devastation to the Gulf coast.
I have a small TV in my office and at night, between calls, I have been rivoted to the TV watching the progress of the Ivan. This morning, I ran along the banks of Lake Erie where the waves were crashing over the pier. The spray was very refreshing and the wind was a steady 20-30 mph. The sun was coming up and I could see the outlines of the tankers far in the distance. Lake Erie is truly an awesome treat.
Glad to hear the the boys are in Blacksburg taking in the game. I hope the power is back on when they return to Fla.
Natalie 
Mary,
Perhaps I was reading about St. George students after Frances rather than Ivan, because there were still medical students on the island at that time, and the news was reporting that they had no power, and were carrying sticks and knives against “marauders”. The student they interviewed was a 37 year old female student from New York. That sounds pretty scary. My son didn’t want me to apply to the Caribbean schools for that reason, and I’m glad I didn’t. That would really mess up your concentration, as well as put you behind!
Kathy
You know what, I forget which hurricane it was that wiped out Grenada; Frances, Ivan, they’re all starting to blur together in my mind. Especially since here in northern Virginia, we are under tornado warnings AGAIN, just like after Frances. It is pouring and windy. No tornadoes in the immediate area. But the weather guys are so excited that they have pre-empted Jeopardy and Ken Jennings - how dare they!!!
Kathy, are you old enough to remember the U.S. sending troops into Grenada in the early 80s and rescuing medical students during a coup? That’s my enduring image of St. George, which is probably too bad as I understand it’s a pretty good school.
Mary
Mary!!
Yep, I’m old enough to remember, though I don’t remember the year, I was hitting drinking age about then! 
Kathy
Quote:
Mary,
Perhaps I was reading about St. George students after Frances rather than Ivan, because there were still medical students on the island at that time, and the news was reporting that they had no power, and were carrying sticks and knives against “marauders”. The student they interviewed was a 37 year old female student from New York. That sounds pretty scary. My son didn’t want me to apply to the Caribbean schools for that reason, and I’m glad I didn’t. That would really mess up your concentration, as well as put you behind!
Kathy
Kathy, that’s right, the students were still on the island for the hurricane. They were putting together evacuation lists later that week and the State Dept. (I think it was them, anyway) was working with the University to arrange for flights to evacuate the students. From what I could gather from reading posts and such from the students, it sounded like the gathering of the “weapons” was more out of a generalized fear that something might happen rather than that something actually did. When I spoke with students on a recent visit to Grenada, each of them commented about how safe they felt on the island. But I can’t imagine what the mindset of anyone on the island must have been. I had heard reports that 90% of the buildings on the island were damaged or destroyed. Incredibly scary. It would be really interesting to learn of the sociological influences that make people loot and destroy in a time of crisis when they wouldn’t do so otherwise–anyone know of any published studies out there on this?
Med school has got to be stressful enough–I can’t imagine having to add this on top of it. At least they have that option of waiting to return (or as Mary says, encouraged to) in January instead.
Kathy, I hope that the studies are going well!! I would love to hear your thoughts on your choice of med school and the “new” life you’ve set out for yourself over there.
Larry