"We’re still here. The people transcend."
-- Sharon Joy Kleitsch
After four hurricanes threatened Tampa Bay but never made landfall in 2004, Sharon Joy Kleitsch threw a party.
“This calls for gratitude,” she thought. Since then, she’s played host every year on Dec. 1, the day after the official end of hurricane season.
Hurricane parties usually happen during the storm. Friends and loved ones gather at whoever’s home is the sturdiest with Publix hurricane cakes, flashlights and booze. Life stops for the storm, then hits hard once it’s gone.
At Kleitsch’s un-hurricane party, she never knows who will show up. She invites those who contributed to the community in some way as a thank you.
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