High Hopes For Hurricane Season

by John Dicks

When we’re lucky enough to live in our great State of Florida, one thing for certain is that we are always attuned to anything with the word “Hurricane” attached.

Whether it’s spoken on tv, printed online, or just overheard in conversation, the “H” word is one of those that just grabs you by the eyes and ears and demands that you pay attention.

That’s particularly so in June when the season technically starts.

Just when we’re warming up to the idea of some hot, humid, and sticky summer weather, the National Hurricane Center comes along with its official forecast of likely storms, all of which snaps us back into reality and bursts our bubble of beach time serenity.

So it was again when we recently learned the outlook, delivered with drab statistics which would otherwise disguise the dire warnings if a monster storm did develop and actually blow its fearsome breath our way.

The good news is that this season of storms is supposed to be better, and less intense than last year. It’s being called a “near normal” year.

Though that might sound good, it makes you wonder whether a sigh of relief is really warranted. After all, storm chances may be down this year, but if a hurricane hits home, we can find no solace by saying we were set for a just “near normal” year.

In case you missed the numbers, here’s what our friends at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) consider “near normal.” They predict that we have “a 40% chance of a near-normal season, a 30% chance of an abovenormal season, and a 30% chance of a below-normal season.

I don’t know about you, but as for me, such description fails to deliver on the “rose-colored glasses” that we’d like to wear to make certain our summer is a bit more carefree.

Delving deeper into the numbers, NOAA suggests that this season we could worry through a range of 12 - 17 named storms (with winds of 39 mph or higher), and that some five to nine will develop into hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher).

Of those, at least one, and as many as four, will be major hurricanes (category 3, 4, or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher).

The strange thing, though, is that NOAA admits to only a 70% confidence in these predicted ranges. It means, of course, that the odds are also 30% that forecasters could be absolutely and totally wrong!

It all sort of makes you want to say, “Thanks, NOAA, we appreciate that valuable insight!”

Nonetheless, and as an interesting side note, the folks at NOAA can say, and with total and complete confidence, that the name of the first 2023 Atlantic storm shall be Arlene.

How the list of names is created I have no idea. A whole alphabet of storm names gets produced each year, but strangely, the list includes only 21 names. I guess that’s fine if we really do have 17 or fewer storms as predicted.

Regardless though, and for some unknown reason, they assign no names to the letters Q, U, X, Y, and Z. Hopefully we won’t need them for naming storms this year, but surely we could find suitable names to attach to the letters just so as not to leave them out.

Personally, I like Quintilla for a name in the first unclaimed spot. Quintilla Bruton did lots of great things for Plant City, including pioneering our library (which was later named after her). I understand, too, that she was a force to be reckoned with, making it perfectly suitable as a name for a hurricane.

Quintilla was also gracious and kind, which should make any hurricane so named one that would show the decency to leave all destruction behind and simply stay offshore.

Indeed, that’s what we’re hoping for the entire Hurricane Season.

John Dicks is both a Lawyer and Businessman, including an interest in farming. He and his family have owned a Blueberry Farm and have Agricultural lands which they lease for cattle operations, as John says, “to someone who knows and handles cattle much better than I do!”. John is both a Gator, having received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida, and a Seminole, with his Law Degree from Florida State University. John serves as Of Counsel to Trinkle Redman, a law firm in Plant City where he also served nine years as City Commissioner, including three terms as Mayor.

A Closer Look Leather Strop

Naturally Amazing Activities

By

Sean Green

Father’s Day is almost here so this month we’re doing a project that might work as a quick Father’s Day gift. A leather strop is a traditional means of keeping his favorite knife or straight razor sharp. There are different styles of straps made; some have canvas or denim glued to the rough side of the leather, leaving the smooth side for a fine finish. In the interest of simplicity, our project will only use three pieces of leather. We are using a thick leather strap two and a half inches wide, but if you have an old belt lying around that is fairly wide, this is a great project for repurposing that old belt. The tools used for this activity are suggested to make things easier, but this project can certainly be done without special tools. In its simplest form, a leather strop can be little more then a strip of leather glued to a piece of wood or fashioned with a hole with which to hang it from a nail.

Supplies:

10 oz Leather Strap 2 ½ inches wide about 25 inches long

Leather scraps for a handle and ring

Fabric Glue (for leather)

C-Clamps

Scrap Wood (for clamping leather)

Production:

Leather Knife or utility razor

Edge Beveller or skive tool

Stitching Groover or Border tool

Steel Leather Stamp

Burnishing tool or wooden dowel

Sandpaper

Create a paper pattern for the handle and cut two matching pieces of leather (to be glued together)

Create a paper pattern for the ring holder and cut one piece of leather to be folded (to be glued together)

Spread glue on both the handle and the key ring, clamp leather between wood, let dry for at least an hour.

** (Leave about an inch unglued, it will later be glued to the leather strap) **

Dampen the sides of the leather, one item at a time (Handle, Key Ring holder, strap) and bevel the edge of the leather with either an edge beveller, skive tool, or razor.

Dampen the sides of the leather and burnish with wood until the leather is smooth and shiny. Heat (more than pressure) is what we are after when burnishing. Wet and work in small sections.

When burnishing is complete, decorate the ends (not the main strap) by carving a grooved border with the stitching

Expensive leather conditioners are not necessary to maintain the leather strop, inexpensive shoe cream (not polish) will keep the strop in good shape for decades if used regularly (once or twice per year).