It is early light. I've already taken the dog out, which is one of those chores about which they give no advice when telling you how to prepare for a storm. I would recommend a heavy-duty raincoat, but that's hindsight. The dog and I just get wet, though he's become accustomed to a good toweling-down afterward and seems to expect it.

The wind is only in the 20-30 mph range, and the rain is light but expected to continue for several days more. Nevertheless, we're under a curfew.

I've never seen a hurricane of such girth—there was a point where it affected almost every part of the Florida peninsula. I would think this was a good thing. Had it been more compact, all that energy would have been more concentrated and deadly.

There was one death in the area caused by a tree falling upon a mobile home. Mobile-home dwellers were not under any order to evacuate, though most did.

For me personally, all is well. We did not even lose electricity, much to my surprise. Our houseguests have been wonderfully considerate, and I certainly wouldn't mind their staying here again in similar circumstances.

Now we can follow the track of Hurricane Ivan.