Watching news about the tornados hitting northern and central florida.

I hope everyone is ok.

Currently we are looking at 35 Million Dollars of damage here in Daytona Beach. Embry Riddle University had tremendous damage to both baseball field and gym,along with other buildings, currently the basketball team will have to play at a different location and baseball hasnt been decided yet, this was a major storm and thank God no one was killed, It also went directly thru a apartment complex. If school had been in it would be a different story, Thanks for your concern

You are welcome. From the area hit hard by Wilma last year, I understand and glad that no one was seriously injured.

Tornados have hit Central and East Central Florida again last night killing at least 14 people and injuring many others. Please keep these residents in your prayers.

More....

Please donate to the Red Cross!!

A. My prayers are with you Floridians (your state is my favorite place to vacation)
B. More needs to be done to install warning detectors in every television sold in this country. A tornado at nite is so deadly because no one sees it coming and many are sleeping. The technology exists to turn your TV on and the volume up to maxiumum and then sound an alarm... this would save many lives... As a Kansan we understand tornados very well... I don't know where the gov't is on this new technology but we need it NOW...
Best wishes to all

I'm getting a NOAA radio quick. El Nino be gone.

I had no idea it hit up in DB...
...I have a friend that runs the athletic facilities at ERAU...

My prayers with all that part of the state.

My prayers too. I just heard the death toll is up to 36. Do we have any websters that live in that area?

I live about a mile from the disaster. And I do call it a disaster. There are many people homeless and several have died (I personally know at least one dead and two still missing). It truly looked like a bomb hit the area.

They are now saying there were a total of three F3-4 tornados that came through the area (it was one and two other formed off the one). If it had moved south just a bit it would have hit here in Leesburg and many more would have died. Even more south it could have hit Clermont and Orlando and killed thousands.

I am following Dad04's lead and getting a weather radio.

I went up to the site with the local church yesterday, but we were told the best thing to do is to deal directly with the Red Cross - as they are trained. I'd urge everyone to donate money to the Red Cross to be sent to this disaster in Lady Lake, FL.

Of course any prayers would be appreciated.

I'm thinking about all my friends there, praying you all are OK.

Mike - I didn't know they went through Daytona.

Pinky: How did Ocala make out? I assume you did OK.

Dad04:

Maybe you should move on over to Lafayette...the food is so much better anyway. By the way, I had the pleasure of hearing Lafayette's Native Stepson, guitarist Sonny Landreth, play on New Year's Eve in Chicago. All I can say is Wow!!! I'd love to see him in his native club, Grant Street...If you get a chance to check him out when he's home, I'd recommend it.

Daytona as a whole was ok with this one, it did tremendous damage to west Volusia, Deland area, and also in New Smyrna Beach. What is so crazy as they were being shown coming thru Ocala area with a little bit around it, that was at 140AM, then it also develops again and hits New Smyrna at 4AM, we still have people missing in West Volusia. It was being covered live on TV only problem of course not many people awake at 1AM, we must get some sort of siren system in place etc as this is 2nd time in last 45 days..............

Bob,
I heard on CNN they think it was 5 that touched down.
I knew Leesburg was close, this is just horrible.

Dad04:

John, thanks for the nice note. Hope Buddy is doing well at Lafayette. How is Willie Long doing? Hope he has recovered from the wrist problem - he's a tremendous player and young man.

I heartily recommend that you go to Grant Street to see Sonny Landreth on April 28th. He will knock you socks off! I'd love to "slide on down" (so to speak...) to see him, too, but don't have much time.

Sonny cut a live album at Grant Street (eponymously titled) in 2004 that is awe inspiring if you are into that type of music.

Thanks for the concern for Zak. Times have changed, but he is moving forward. NOLA was a disaster, but no fault of the school (LUNO) or the baseball program (Doc Beeman).

Please, stay in touch with the board. A number of us here would love to keep up with how Buddy and Willie are doing.

Tom

Tom,
Will, Buddy and Jon Lucroy from Umatilla are all doing very well. Thanks for asking. Long will see alot of playing time this year. Lucroy is projected as a top 10 rounder this year, maybe in the top 5 rounds, as catcher. They have a soph. RHP Danny Farquhar from Pembroke Pines, who is playing in the Cape league next summer. Looks like Buddy will start the year as the Friday night guy. Nowhere to go but down though.

The Cajuns are doing alot of recruiting in this state, signing an infielder from Lake Highland Prep this year. They have two juco transfer pitchers from Florida this year also.

JG

Dad04:

Thanks for the update. Looks like Coach Szfec has a nice Florida pipeline in place. Needs to balance out all those Cajun names on the roster...

If he somehow could tap South Floria, Miami, look out - culture shock for the Latin boys, no doubt, and vice versa! Some sort of Cajutino blend...LOL.

The pipeline is in place, extending east and west from LA. Most of the Latin kids they find hale from TX and AZ, for some reason.

Dad04:

John - check out the following links. Launch "Moonshine". It's exquisite. Zak, his girlfriend, and I are going to see the North Missisippi Allstars Saturday in Chicago. If they come your way, I highly recommend them. Hope the Ragin' Cajuns season is starting strong.

BTW - I think Zak will be walking on at SIU Edwardsville in the fall, after he rehabs his wrist. Nice D2 program in a wood bat league.

Take care.

North Mississippi Allstars

NMA Website

Tom-NMA is very tight. Enjoy the show! Best of luck to Zak, whatever his avocation. Cajuns have started 4-0 and entertain the Illini this weekend. So far, so good.