Archive for Sunday, August 15, 2004

In Lawrence, Floridian relieved to hear from sons

By Jennifer Byrd

August 15, 2004

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It's been a stressful couple of days for Linda Patterson.

The Punta Gorda, Fla., resident was visiting her two daughters in Lawrence when Hurricane Charley slammed into the Gulf Coast town where she, her boyfriend and her two sons live.

Patterson and her boyfriend, Eddie Joe Pennington, spent most of Saturday anxiously waiting word -- "any word" -- from Patterson's sons still in Florida.

"My stomach was in knots," said Patterson, who moved seven years ago to Florida from Lawrence.

Patterson's two daughters, Amy Baughman and Michelle Davis, also were anxiously waiting to hear any news.

"I was praying all day," Baughman said.

The knots started to ease about 3 p.m. when Patterson finally heard from her oldest son, Wayne Baughman. The younger son, Samson Patterson, had called earlier in the day.

"They said they had never seen anything like this in their lives," Patterson said. "They said they could not even describe the devastation."

Her sons said they had to climb through a tangle of downed trees to get into Patterson's house, but the only sign of damage was a crack in the living room ceiling and water on the floors.



video Charley's toll: 13, so far

Patterson also said she was concerned about her dog, Jill, a 110-pound pit bull mix. Her sons said Jill was panting hard when they found her, but she was not injured.

Fences and trees were down all around the house, and boats from a local marina had washed into the town's streets, Patterson said.

Patterson and Pennington are scheduled to head home Monday but are unsure whether they'll be able to fly into the hurricane-ravaged area.

Travel, though, isn't Patterson's biggest concern.

Some of her friends live in mobile homes, and Patterson can't stop wondering whether they're safe.

"I'm anxious to get home," Patterson said. "A lot of our friends are down there. We want to see how they're doing."

She said she's also anxious to see whether the grocery store where she's a bookkeeper is still standing.

Amy Baughman said she was glad her mother and Pennington were in Kansas when Charley hit.

"It would have been hard knowing they were all down there and waiting to hear from them," she said.

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