*Googles how long does it take to build a bridge*

Oh dear. My #Sanibel is not going to make it.

There is only one bridge on and off my hometown of #SanibelIsland.

And while it is being rebuilt, what will Sanibel's economy run on?
Sanibel has one industry: tourism.

Who will visit? How will they get there? Where will they stay? What will they do? What will they eat?

The answers to those questions represent thousands of jobs that will not come back for a long time.
These are mostly low-income and working class jobs.

The people who did them last week need to make money tomorrow.

They can't wait until the bridge is rebuilt. They'll have to find work elsewhere.
The people who own Sanibel's fancy homes and run Sanibel's fancy hotels will be likely be fine eventually.

But they will lay off all the low income and working class people in #Sanibel and #FortMyers whose labor isn't required while everything is closed.
People see Sanibel as a wealthy enclave that no working class person needs to mourn the loss of.

But for many low-income and working class people, it's their livelihood.
While Sanibel is being rebuilt (if Sanibel is rebuilt), all the tourists will find new beaches to make memories on.

Will they come back?

Sanibel's natural beauty is its draw. Is it still beautiful? I don't know yet.
If Sanibel's beauty is gone and its tourists too, what will power its economy?

What will Sanibel be if no one wants to look for junonia shells or walk through @DingDarlingWS or rent a bike and meander down our doublewide sidewalks?

I am sad for my Sanibel. I am scared for it.

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More from @betterwphoebe

Sep 30
"It's harder to die than it is the evacuate."

This is a useless platitude.

It is not harder to die. It is harder to spend money you do not have to gas up a car you do not own to drive to a shelter that does not exist.
There are absolutely people who had all the time and resources in the world to evacuate and didn't because they were lazy, prideful, or ambivalent.

I am SO ANGRY AT THEM.
Instead of focusing on rescuing people for whom evacuation was not an option because of $, disability, or lack of shelter options...

...first responders were put at UNNECESSARY risk to rescue people who ACTUALLY could have "just evacuated."
Read 9 tweets
Sep 29
Let's talk about how HURRICANE SHELTERS work in FL.

(This is based on growing up on Sanibel, other localities might do things differently)

Shelters are usually functional public facilities like libraries and school gyms (sometimes churches).
They don't so much exist as shelters as much as they are ACTIVATED as shelters.

Local govt activates the shelters, they are stocked and staffed, then their availability is communicated to the public so people safely evac.

Sounds simple, right? Ehhhhh......
Each one of those steps has a million things that can and do go wrong that make it slower, harder, or just impossible for people to use them for safety.
Read 13 tweets
Sep 29
MY PARENTS ARE ALIVE!

I couldn't make out the call well and the line dropped quickly. But I was able to hear that they were safe and had water and I think also food.
Read 5 tweets
Sep 29
"They could have evacuated."
"Why didn't they evacuate?"
"That's what you get for not evacuating."

As a lifelong Florida resident who grew up low-income on Sanibel Island which has been destroyed by #Ian hear me when I say this:

Evacuating is HARD.
You need to figure out where to go, which is problematic because hurricanes MOVE QUICKLY and are HARD TO PREDICT.

So maybe you just need to go inland?
But maybe you need to leave the state?
But maybe the rest of the seaboard will get hit too?
Let's say you decide to yeet off the East Coast until the storm passes.

How are you getting to that place?

Are you driving? Is that fast enough? Can you get everyone in the car? Will you be able to afford the gas? Where will you stay overnight?
Read 9 tweets
Sep 29
As I look for information about my family in Fort Myers, I see a sad thing:

No sympathy for the wealthy Sanibel residents who should have evacuated.

If you know Sanibel well, you know there is a divide. The rich residents and the working class residents who serve the rich.
My dad is a plumber. My mom is a house cleaner. They are not rich.

I am descended from the first Black family to live on Sanibel. Generations later, the majority of my family is still low-income or working class.

And on Sanibel.

captivasanibel.com/2016/11/23/the…
Anyone who could have evacuated should have evacuated. But the option to evacuate comes from having money or having community.

My parents were able to evacuate because of the generosity of their beautiful church community.

Otherwise, they would have struggled mightily.
Read 5 tweets
Sep 26, 2021
Anxious about an upcoming job interview?
This is what I tell my coaching clients:

1⃣ Focus on what you can control
2⃣ Let go of the outcome
3⃣ Research and prep
4⃣ Limit your time investment
5⃣ Distract when you can't act
1⃣ Focus on what you can control:

Hiring processes have tons of moving pieces. It's impossible for you to know what they all are or control them.

Try not to fixate on the insight you wish you had or the things you wish they'd do. Focus exclusively on what you can control.
2⃣ Let go of the outcome:

The #1 thing you can't control is whether you're chosen for the role. Focusing on how badly you want the job (or how badly you want out of your current one) supercharges your anxiety.

Use that energy to set yourself up for good interview performance.
Read 6 tweets

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