I live in one of the worst places to be when a tropical storm approaches, a barrier reef in the Gulf of Mexico.

They built up my expectations as Fay approached, as they always do when a tropical storm forms and heads towards Florida.

They said Fay would possibly reach a category 1 or 2 at the most.  So when I awoke this morning my expectations were to see high seas in the Gulf with water coming up to my rip rap and winds whipping my palm trees around violently.

Instead I saw calm seas and very little wind; in fact I’ve played golf in more treacherous weather.

I picked up our local paper, the Sarasota Herald Tribune, and here were some of the headlines: ‘Fay aims for mainland after hitting the keys’; ‘Region is battened down and closed for the duration’; Senior care centers and hospitals ready for the worst’; ‘Some balk at move to shelters’; Schools are closed for the day’; ‘Charlotte nervous as storm approaches’; ‘Playing it safe inside your home’; ‘Don’t let your guard down’; Tips on food and water’; ‘Taking care of damage in your yard’; ‘A methodical cleanup’.

And, all of this storm hype was just as bad on radio and TV.  There was that typical standup reporter at Fisherman’s Village in Punta Gorda, where Charley came through five years ago and devastated the community and all he really could talk about, you got it, was Charley.  He would have needed an airboat to create wind and the rain wasn’t cooperating either.

Now, I didn’t take any of this lightly.  I tucked all my outdoor furniture away so it would not become a flying missile, put my golf cart in the garage along wih my cars, doubled the lines on my boat, checked my flashlights and battery operated radio to see that they were working.

The day before the storm was to arrive I called my doctor to change an appointment next month only to find out I was talking to an answering service; they had shut down the office and wouldn’t reopen for four days.

You see, here in Florida work stops for just about any reason, especially happy hour, but a tropical storm is one of the best of all reasons to have an extended happy hour.

Fickle Fay fizzled, but I guess merchants sold some batteries, water and plywood boards and the local bars are doing well.

Now all I have to do is undo what I did to prepare for Fay.

Oh, I am not unhappy that the Storm wasn’t what was predicted, it’s my expectations that I now have to deal with, much like my banker who called the other day to tell me he found a 4.75% CD, only to call me back and tell me he made a mistake, it was only 3.75%.