By Susan Bromley &
Elizabeth Lowe
Staff writers

Chipley, Fla.– Ray Fulgenzi was playing cards when Hurricane Dennis arrived.
Fulgenzi and his wife Judy, former Brandon Township residents, have a home just 60 miles west from the Navarre Beach area, where the hurricane, with 120 mph winds, came ashore.
The Fulgenzis never evacuated. Instead, they watched as the sky grew black, debris blew through the air, they lost power and their 80-foot tall oaks had the tops snapped off. One of their trees stands next to their pool and Fulgenzi says he was waiting for it to fall in.
The Fulgenzis did what they have done when other hurricanes have come through or threatened them.
‘We ride ’em out and see what happens,? said Fulgenzi, 66. ‘You pray that it don’t take you away.?
When Fulgenzi bought the 5-acre property that is 50-miles inland in 1990, hurricanes never entered his mind. If he was buying now, he says, he’d think about it. And he is glad he never bought a home next to the ocean like he originally considered doing, but couldn’t afford. He notes he just saw a news story about a man who had to rebuild his oceanfront home after Hurricane Ivan and just saw the home destroyed again by Dennis. The man plans to rebuild.
‘He likes the area,? says Fulgenzi. ‘I wouldn’t do it.?
The Fulgenzis live in a brick home with steel doors. Their doors and windows are made to withstand hurricane-strength winds. New building codes say windows and doors must be able to endure a 145-mph hit from debris such as a 2×4.
They have insurance and a $2,200 deductible for hurricanes, but they have no flood insurance. The first tropical storm this year they had 18 inches of rain in six hours. Because of the high water table, they have no basement.
Although they suffered $8,000 in damage to their home when Hurricane Opal came through in 1995, they suffered little damage from Hurricane Ivan last year, just a few lost shingles. What concerns them more are the tornados that follow hurricanes. With Dennis, Fulgenzi said there weren’t many, but he remembers 15 tornados that followed Ivan.
The Fulgenzis don’t know until about three or four days before the storm arrives where it will hit.
?(Hurricane Dennis) was supposed to come directly in on top of us, but it did a wobble and went into Navarre,? says Fulgenzi.
In preparing for hurricanes or tropical storms, they stock up on food about three days before and then tie everything down, including the garden hose. Their barn, garage and guest house are all tied in. And the horse they own is let out to pasture.
‘They turn their back to the winds,? says Fulgenzi. ‘Horses are safer loose than in the barn. They can do whatever they want. The barn could cave in or the tree could fall, pinning them This way they’re free.?
Fulgenzi says this is early for hurricanes and he believes they are having more because of warm water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico. But he and Judy aren’t planning on going anywhere, they’ll keep riding out any storms that come their way.
‘We won’t leave Florida,? he says. ‘It’s our life. If you want to live in Florida you’re gonna put up with Mother Nature, just like in Michigan you put up with winter.?
Former Goodrich resident Toni Elliott, 21, got a crash course in hurricanes last year.
New to Florida, she didn’t think twice about preparing for Hurricane Charley before it hit the state in August 2004 with wind gusts up to 180 mph.
Sequestered for nearly three hours in the bathtub of her Fort Myers apartment about 250 miles from the eye of the category four hurricane, Elliott got a first-hand look at its power.
‘I looked outside at a safe distance from my window,? she said. ‘I’d see awnings, tree branches flying through the air. I was just waiting for my windows to blow in.?
Elliott now lives in a block-built house a few miles away in Cape Coral. She reassures her mother she’s safer there, with the ventilated metal ‘hurricane shutters? that get fastened over the windows.
As of July 13, she didn’t know if Tropical Storm Emily would be upgraded to hurricane status, or if she’d be in Emily’s path. But thanks to news broadcasts and friends, she’s got hurricane procedures down to a science.
With many gas stations closed after Charley hit, Elliott waited three hours to fill her car. In anticipation of Hurricane Dennis last week, she filled up immediately.
Elliott’s also stocked up on bottled water, batteries, flashlights, and candles–to see in the shutter-darkened home– and knows alternate routes to work in case she can’t cross bridges.
Last month, Florida lifted taxes on hurricane supplies, to encourage residents to stock up for the July to September hurricane season.
Elliott also encourages Michiganders to think twice before booking Florida visits during the hurricane season.
‘If you do, make sure and ask the hotels if they reimburse if there’s a hurricane,? she said.