Strategy Session? A Seminar It Wasn't

The usual group of regulars always seems to show up at the community center, but even free munchies doesn't get people all fired up and mobilized anymore. Back in the days when North Miami had a sizeable contingent of condo-dwelling retirees living on pensions and Social Security the very rumor of free food would have packed the room, regardless of what the program was . Not these days!

Hurricane preparedness is a tough sell to folks who live in houses that only suffered minor damage while surviving fifty or more years worth of hurricanes. Most of North Miami's houses were built the old fashioned way years ago, before pre-fabricated trusses and hurricane codes that allow them. The beams were individually cut, fitted, and nailed in place by carpenters, not assembled in a factory by minimum wage machine operators.

And the majority of the citizens have already weathered many a storm, know what "hurricane supplies" means, and the conversation always gets off track from the important stuff these days. Now it's talk about the luxuries and conveniences, not just perhaps a portable generator to keep the fridge cold and a few lights and small TV running. Now people talk about the best way to store enough fuel to run a back-up generator so ALL the lights work and the central AC will keep the whole house cool for a week.

So nobody shows up at the community center. Why bother?