When a storm such as Ivan comes ashore, one struggles with the right words to say. When you realize there are no words, you find that the only thing left is hope.

Clear Channel Radio has been broadcasting live since Hurricane Francis came through. There have been so many phone calls with pleas for help from people who have been suffering for weeks without power and from those who lost everything.

The thing is that not many people know about it. The guys on the air do though, they have been a literal voice in the dark for so many. They take calls everyday from desperate people asking for help.

Floridians are responding.

They put out a call from a diabetic who needs ice to cool her insulin and an FPL guy brings her a few bags the same afternoon.

A woman's eight year old son is comatose and on a ventilator. She needs a generator to cool his room because all the machines have made the heat unbearable. Someone calls to say there will be a generator there that day.
There are countless stories like this everyday. All of them from nameless faceless Floridians.

Neighbors in Vero get together on the third day without power and decide to have a picnic. They all bring the defrosting food from their freezers and grill it up on a neighbors grill. They walk down to the end of the cul-de-sac and ask my 80 year old mother to join them. They had never even met before.

A man buys Krispy Kreme donuts for a hundreds of FPL guys who are gathered together one morning in a staging area. He bought the donuts for them just to say thank you.

A man in Palm Beach County whose power is back on calls to loan his generator to total strangers. Not just once, but twice. The people who borrowed it had their power restored so the man called back to say the generator was available again.

A tree falls on a single mothers car in Miami and a man calls to say he will clear the tree for her. Another woman calls and donates a car.

A man in Port St. Lucie brings his big screen t.v. out in the yard, plugs it into his neighbors generator and they have a movie night for the kids in the neighborhood.

A restaurant in Broward donates thousands of dollars to the victims of Ivan in Jamaica. Another restaurant takes up a collection of food, water clothing and toys.

As I write this 6 South Florida firemen are flying to Jamaica to assist in the recovery efforts. Ten more are in Tallahasse waiting until its safe to go assist the people who are being devastated by Hurricane Ivan.

Four big storms have come ashore this summer. Bonnie, Charlie, Francis, and Ivan. But, we are stronger than we thought. We are survivors, and we genuinely care for our neighbors.

No storm can destroy that.