Lawrence Walters is well known to our readers as one of the foremost attorneys in the adult Internet industry. He runs the East Coast office of the law firm Weston, Garrou and DeWitt, and like many in the industry he lives and works in the great state of Florida.
AVN Online spoke with Larry early Saturday morning from his home near Orlando. As he awaited the brunt of the hurricane, fully prepared and with some time on his hands, he agreed to send us periodic reports from the front. "I’ll update as long as I have power," he added, with ominous modesty.
Here is the first of his dispatches. We’ll post more to this same article as they come in, and needless to say, we wish all our adult Internet friends and colleagues (and everyone else) in Florida a safe if wet holiday weekend.
September 4, 2004 – 3:20pm est
Our law firm is located smack dab in the middle of the path of both Hurricane Charley, and now Hurricane Francis. For those of you who are curious about what this must be like, here are some thoughts.
Just when my practice began to get back to normal last week, in the aftermath of Hurricane Charley, the reports began surfacing of a large Category 4 hurricane churning in the Atlantic, and headed our way once again. Most of our staff and attorneys in the Altamonte Springs, Florida, office lost power during the last storm; some for almost a week. The task of remaining focused on the practice of law has been a challenge for us over the last few weeks. Given the fact that we maintain a worldwide practice, many of our clients from outside the State of Florida do not understand how disruptive and chaotic things can get in the run up to, and aftermath, of a Florida Hurricane. Fortunately, most clients have understood the necessity of moving back deadlines, and delaying the acceptance of new work. Since we will likely loose power (and thus Internet access) again after Francis moves through, projects will be delayed, and local court hearings continued again.
The anxiety level has been building since Monday, as gasoline began getting scarce, and generators were sold out. We all filled up our refrigerators with food, stocked up on canned goods, and tanked up on water. Some of us decided to bail, and left the state. Others who have dogs or other inhibiting factors, have decided to ride it out and batten down the hatches. A significant complicating factor this time is the fact that piles of debris left over from Charley continue to line the streets of our neighborhoods. Although some of this has been removed, substantial numbers of tree limbs, branches and other potentially dangerous projectiles remain in close vicinity to residential windows. One neighbor attempted to remove the debris himself, and drop it off at the city landfill on Friday, but was turned away, and told that accepting the debris would involve "too much paperwork." The potential for flying debris caused by 110mph winds has all the Central Florida residents on edge. Most windows are boarded up, and sandbags line the entry ways.
The power of the government comes into stark relief, as dusk to dawn curfews have been imposed, and all cars have been banned from the roads, as I write this. The Chief Judge in our area has imposed a ‘no bond’ order for looters and those who ignore the curfew.
Mother Nature is a powerful force to be sure, but the perseverance of man is stronger. All local residents start to band together in emergencies like this, and the good in people comes out. Remember the debris in the street that the landfill would not accept? All the neighbors pulled together and dragged the junk into a safe location. People walked around with cold water to refresh the tree removal contractors and power workers after Charley, and I expect that this time will be no different. We’re all in the same boat, so to speak. I suspect by the time this is over, we’ll wish that were literally true.
Larry Walters, somewhere near Orlando.
7:30pm
Feeder bands. That’s the number one topic of conversation at present. The come in with a vengeance, and leave before you know it. They bring tremendous gusts of wind and extensive rain, then leave an strange still in their wake. Cell phone access is intermittent at best, because the towers are easily affected. Tornado’s have ripped through my county, but disappeared as quickly as they came. As I’ve written this segment, we’ve gone from torrential wind and sheeting rain, to a peaceful sunset. Odd, to say the least.
Over 11,000 Central Floridians have lost power so far, but we’re one of the lucky ones. The threat of loss of power gives one an opportunity to reflect on how dependent we’ve become on electrical power. The entire adult Internet industry would cease to function without electricity. When boiled down to its bare essence, that’s all the industry sells; electrical impulses that are decoded into pixels. Any interruption in the continued supply of electricity eliminates the adult Internet. What a tremendous power to have. Thankfully, the government does not control the supply of power; that is left to capitalism and free enterprise, therefore virtually guaranteeing a continued flow of information online.
The eye of the storm is just about to make landfall, and that’s when things really start to get ugly. Weathermen are getting blown around on television, as they take unnecessary risks to bring us the story from the edge of the storm. Better them than me. This looks to be a sleepless night for those of us in the path of the storm.
For now, it’s time to watch a curiously calm, but ominously red, sunset.
More to follow…
September 5, 2004, 4:30pm
Power has been intermittent and Internet access unreliable, but thankfully, no bodily injury or significant property damage to report. Francis took a jog to the south, and spared the Orlando area from the brunt of another eye wall. There are plenty of tree limbs down, and debris strewn about the street, but the storm was not nearly as bad as it could have been. The aftermath of a storm of this magnitude should not be underestimated, however. Flood waters cover Central and South Florida, and the rain has not yet stopped. Historically, more deaths occur in the post hurricane cleanup efforts than during the storm itself. This is mainly attributable to improper use of generators resulting in carbon monoxide poisoning, sewage in the flood water, and snakes looking for high ground after being washed out of their holes.
Yes, we’re in for several days of hard times. Over a half-million people are without power, and that tends to test the collective patience. Cars are still banned from the streets, gas is completely unavailable, and emergency vehicles cannot respond to any but the most serious 911 calls. This all contributes to a sense of “Mad Max” anarchy throughout the area. The rebuilding effort will cost billions to be sure, and thousands of FEMA workers have already been dispatched. Those displaced from their mobile homes will be tended to first, along with the elderly and disabled. Schools, businesses and restaurants may be closed for a while, due to damage and flooding, but slowly we’ll put back the pieces. After all, we have to get ready for Hurricane Ivan which is following the same path as Frances.
