A Ronin's Journey: Chapter 11

May 2014

As soon as we returned from Oklahoma, I got the news that my grandmother was being rushed to the hospital. Briefly, I wondered if she was going to be the next one to die. Fortunately, she was stabilized and put on a respirator.

The next hit wasn’t long in coming.

It had been raining for days around Pensacola, Florida. Massive flooding was stretching east to Navarre, the waters washing out the roads and causing them to collapse. It was a mess.

Two hours before work, Luke texted me, asking if I could race down to Florida. The Wicked Jester warehouse was flooded. Two of our friends were already there, cleaning. I called into work, then tried to see if Casey would take off work.

I didn’t want to leave her alone at that time. She gave me her blessing, but it did nothing to comfort me. I left in tears; I didn’t want to leave her. With what seemed like everyone dying, in my mind, I wasn’t sure if I would see her again.

During the two and a half-hour drive to Olive Branch, I reached out to Bobby. …