The following is part of an e-mail I recieved from a freind of mine in Florida re Hurricane Frances last w/e and there's another one on the way to them

"After 19 years in Florida, this one was a tough one. It lasted forever! We were without electricity for 3 & 1/2 days. It is now 4 days without telephone. Cell service has been spotty, but at least we were able to communicate with our children and some friends. This e-mail will go out when we get telephone service again. Last night sleeping with a/c was wonderful. How did people live down here before a/c? We had damage to our trees but enough is left of the front one, that I was able to hang all my 14 vandas on it. (Type of orchid) 2 trees in the back need to be uprighted and supported. This morning, (my wife) went back to work. It was wonderful to have a hot breakfast again and COFFEE!!! We made tea one day using the BBQ and after made hard boiled eggs. Opening the refrigerator took planning. We would know exactly what we wanted and quickly remove the item. Our freezer held for the full time. We started to get some thawing so we took all our frozen food over to our daughter's (who had electric all the time) but as soon as we got there, we found out that power was back on so home we went. Damage - one tile on the roof peak is somewhat raised, the front door is hard to open due to being water soaked for 3 days and some plants have been lost. Most of the orchids tied to trees are gone. We have friends in Florida in more effected areas that we still have not been able to communicate with"