Kindness on the road

In September 1999, Hurricane Floyd, a storm the size of Texas, was hurtling towards the East Coast.  Evacuation from our barrier island seemed prudent. My husband sent me ahead early from our home here in Fernandina Beach.  As a respiratory therapist and small business owner, he remained on the island. Sending other staff home, he made sure all our patients were safe with enough backup oxygen tanks and supplies to get them through what could be a prolonged power failure.

Meanwhile, I packed up our toddler son and our pets and took off for my brother’s home near Charlotte, North Carolina.  I was most grateful that our son was a great traveler, but I didn’t forget books and CDs! As I drove up I-95 to I-26, Charleston, South Carolina, had just received evacuation orders. Even though all lanes of I-26 had been opened to westward traffic, cars were still in total gridlock.

I decided to continue north on I-95, but I pulled over to grab some coffee first. The waitress who served me lived in Concord, North Carolina, only a few miles from my brother’s town. She drew me a "back roads" map, which I have to this day. Bless her!

As I whizzed along those empty back roads, the radio came alive. Yes, it was National Public Radio (NPR), but with new purpose: folks were calling in with alternate routes to escape the gridlock — a totally spontaneous response at that time by concerned local residents with their irreplaceable local knowledge. I had the lucky luxury of my waitress, but so many others depended on the kindness of local citizens who had been given a voice through the NPR radio waves to help others escape that huge storm roaring up the East Coast. 

What about my husband, you may ask? His trip was a bit different. In spite of his ample local knowledge, he, too, remembers many helpful phone calls into radio stations on his route. However, there just are not that many roads leading out of Florida.  He drove for 8 hours in bumper-to-bumper traffic. He ended up spending the night in a Douglas, Georgia parking lot, unable to find a room anywhere. That trip usually takes only two hours.

Thank goodness that storm passed to the north of us. I think about our trips every hurricane season, with gratitude for NPR and the kindness of strangers. I fervently hope the decision to defund National Public Radio will be reversed. NPR's value to our communities is just too multi-faceted!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Winifred Stephenson and her husband are 40+year residents of Amelia Island.  

Others in the community are invited to share their stories of kindness and compassion. If you have a story you'd like to share here in the Fernandina Observer - about a neighbor or friend or business that showed you kindness - please contact Peggie Weeks at pegweeks@gmail.com