#HurricaneIrma Taught Me #VISTRONG

Hurricane Irma a category “5 plus”, which could have been a 6 or a 7 honestly per the wind speeds, barreled directly through the Virgin Islands and 90% of the people that I loved were affected. No roof — partial roof — no building — windows busted out — no electricity — no cell phone service — no infrastructure — roads washed-out.

I got a long list of the things that hurricane Irma taught me.

#1 Hurricane Irma taught me that a hurricane could be higher than a category 5.

Category 5 is anything with 157mph winds sustained or above and hurricane Irma in some places was measured upwards of 187 and people are even saying 2-something.  They need to update the
category system and tell people that a category 5 — 6 — 7 or maybe even 8 is coming through and they need to get the hell up out!

#2 There can be more than one gigantic hurricane in the Atlantic at the same time.

I don’t know what Harvey did to Irma but Irma came through following Harvey and at the same time Jose?! What you doing here?!It was one point when you looked at the radars and it looked like airplanes lined up to take off.

#3 You can be watching a live stream camera during the hurricane and not only can the camera fall off
while you’re watching it, it can go black …

and your entire heart could fall out of your feet! You know how scary that is? Like all connection GONE.   I heard that ZBVI in the British Virgin Islands has never gone off air during a storm.  
The guy at ZBVI said the transmitters went off they went to go try to fix them they couldn’t get them to come back on and then a giant piece of galvanize came through the door like bomb. He said he was lying on the floor bleeding for three hours. Irma didn’t care whether or not we knew what was going on, Irma didn’t care whether or not the people that were down there knew what was going on, Irma cared not.

#4 90% of the people that I love and care about live in the Caribbean.

I think I knew that but I really didn’t *know it know it* Irma left the Caribbean had the nerve to go up to Florida! 9% of the other people were in Florida! And I must be trippin’ because why am I up here?

#5 Irma taught me that people come out the woodworks.

People you ain’t heard from in eons okay?  People who kind of stopped speaking to you because they got some issue with themselves some kind of guilt thing going on on their own side. All of a
sudden when everybody can’t find everybody else oh the phone starts ringing! I didn’t even know them jokers remembered me much less cared.

#6 Hurricanes to exes is like bug spray to roaches.

They just come out. I don’t want your friend request. I’m over here hidden in the secret place with Jesus. You ain’t said nothing about looking for family members. Uhn uhn that’s not gonna happen.

#7 Irma taught me that people evacuate their chickens …

now I guess this makes sense but I saw a photograph of somebody had like wrapped up their chickens … it looked like newspaper and tape … a little burrito and his little head was just … and had like seven eight nine chickens laid across the back of their car … and I had never seen anything like that before.

#8 Irma taught me that people think our houses in the Caribbean are built out of cardboard.

Some guy posted Weather Channel please stop reporting on all these places that have houses that are tantamount to 3 Little Pigs houses. Signed South Florida resident with a well-built house. And then somebody came below him and was like yeah the houses are pretty much like they’re made out of cardboard. Somebody looked up where this guy lived and I thought “he is too close
to the water in Florida to be running his mouth with a hurricane coming on the way as ridiculous storm surges and really does not care about the differentiation between the land and the ocean” … really don’t care … what land? what ocean? this all ocean!! People went off on that man. Architects responded to him. He had to shut his Facebook page down plus he got a tongue-lashing Caribbean-style. Our houses are concrete cinder blocks with steel reinforced concrete down through the cinder blocks. What he should have understood was the storm was so powerful that it was mowing down places that were built like that.

#9 Irma taught me that I can forget to shower and eat.

Everything Glamazini stopped. I wasn’t posting anything.  I started locs on the day of the storm and by the time I got home who cared? My husband was like forcing me to eat reminding me to eat I forgot.  I felt like I was running a one-woman search-and-rescue mission. I helped so many people … strangers … people I know … get in contact with each other that for a second I thought I should do it for a living.

#10 Irma taught me that the ocean can go away.

Where the ocean was supposed to be, ain’t no ocean b. People just jumping off the docks walking on the seabed just shell conch shells and anchors and buoys just lying on the ground … a manatee was just looking like “I did not sign up for this. I was told by AppleCare that there would be ocean.”

#11 It also taught me that people are stupid

because a lot of people not only jump down there and walk around but walk really far out? Don’t y’all know the waters gonna come back? Y’all about to die like Pharaoh’s army.   What is you doing?  

#12 Irma taught me that people can be extremely insensitive.

Some people had posted up a video of their house when the windows busted in and everything and the person said this is fake because nothing is blowing around in the house. I had to tell them you’re ignorant you’re insensitive. In 1989 Hugo took the roof off a house that I was in. I’m standing in my bedroom and it’s raining in the closet like an Escher painting and it was the calmest and
most surreal thing that’s ever happened and nothing was blowing around. I post on my Glamazini page that I just spoke to my father, some girls don’t come on my page and tell me you finally get some act right you posting the right flag for the British Virgin Islands. *crickets* EMOJI FLAG. I don’t care if I had posted up a praise and worship flag. I don’t care if I had posted a dishtowel or napkin a paper towel … I couldn’t find my father.

#13 Also taught me that I can pop off when I am a little bit on edge.

My up-deh-hill-from-Ras-Valley-Freshwater-Pond clapback was strong! Somebody was calling me names and all the stuff in one of the comments in YouTube and when I tell you I put some words on HE. He came back and apologized and said you’re right my approach was all wrong.

#14 Irma taught me that people don’t know the difference between the Caribbean islands.

I’ve seen YouTube videos saying some place would St. Martin it’s not it was Tortola. MSNBC that was supposed to be all about the US Virgin Islands scattered with pictures of the British Virgin Islands and Saint Martin … and not only do they not know I don’t think that they care that much. But it’s not like I would be able to tell if there was some horrible thing to happen up here in the
States. *shrug*

#15 People don’t know where I am from. 

I’m talking about people that love me!  Who knows? I’m from St. John Tortola St. Thomas St. Martin Bahamas they don’t know.

#16 Irma taught me that a hurricane can break down concrete walls, can bend steel, and can wash away entire roads.

I already knew hurricanes could rip off your roof, could pick up boats and put them on top of buildings, I’m talking ’bout the *new thing* that Irma showed me. I didn’t expect those little buildings to still be there because they would just some pitched up food shacks on the side of the street .. but I expected the road to be there. And Irma was like “I like the road and I’m going to pick up all the asphalt and move it down here toward the ocean so this right here ain’t no road b.”

#17 What it feels like to not be able to find my family members.

Woooo boy. You see this thing on the news all the time,  people went through the earthquake in Haiti, people go through the tornado in Joplin, and they haven’t heard from their family members and I think that’s not horrible but I really didn’t know what it felt like because in 1989 when Hugo went through I was there so I knew where everybody was. But when I tell y’all the hurricane hit I didn’t hear nothing and then for two days I didn’t know where my parents were.

#18 Y’all I was looking at before and after pictures of the destruction and looking around my house and realizing a lot of these places in the pictures are in my house

I’m looking at one right now. I have video of lots of places that don’t exist anymore.

#19 Irma taught me that the color of an island change from a satellite picture.

All the trees are gone. I didn’t know that could happen!

#20 It’s kind of impossible that my parents are alive

because if you see the video … I measured a mile and a half down the street from them … and I know where they were in the building they were in … I still don’t understand how that could
happen so I truly believe God can do impossible things. I knew it but I *know* it now. 

#21 Apparently Kenny Chesney had a home on Saint John

and he loves it so much and he has already started efforts to raise money and he’s brainstorming way that he can use his music and his notoriety and I didn’t know that and I am now a fan of Kenny Chesney.

#22 The donkey up at Drake’s seat over on St. Thomas overlooking at Magen’s Bay … that donkey is resilient and built Ford Tough!

It’s a tourist attraction there’s always a donkey up there people take pictures with a donkey blah blah blah it’s been that way since I was a kid … they probably replace the donkey and they don’t tell us because they don’t want us to be traumatized … but after the storm was done the donkey up the hill on Drake’s seat was up there eating grass. So don’t tell me God is not good!!

#23 Whoever built Windward Passage hotel on waterfront knows how to build a strong house.

Windward Passage has been there since before I was born and it seemed like Windward Passage is going to be there after I’m gone. So I decided that the donkey and Windward Passage need to come together and work on new building standards for the Virgin Islands. Come together and figure this thing out.

#24 The last thing Irma taught me is I’m a Virgin Islander till the day I die.

You can put me in Missouri you could put me whatever you want to … I am just a woman that grew up up deh hill from Ras Valley … Tutu MASSIVE … I’m a Virgin Islander till the day they put me in the ground and I pray that *when* they put me in the ground its ground in the Virgin Island. 

VI till I die.