Bill Myers

When I wrote last week's tip, Hurricane Charley was bearing down on us.

Moments after I finished writing, Charley strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of over 145 miles per hour, and was predicted to make landfall just a mile or two from our home.

At the last minute, the storm veered east, up Charlotte Harbor tearing through Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte.

The hurricane missed us by about 12 miles. We had no damage at all - to our home, our offices, or our local community. We were very, very lucky . . . and we count our blessings every day.

But it is a far different story for the folks just a few miles south. 17,000 homes and businesses were destroyed or damaged beyond repair, with 30,000 people left homeless.

The basic infrastructure of two cities is gone. It will be years before the communities and the people there recover.

True, the 10,000 relief workers who poured into the area are working night and day to make things better. But even with all that help, thousands and thousands of people will sleep tonight without a roof over their heads, in the hot, bug infested swamp that is south Florida in August.

They'll be wondering how to start over - with no homes, no possessions, no jobs, no money, and no clear path to recovering their lives.

So no matter what's going on in your own life, it could be worse.

Count your blessings.