No hotels? No matter for 13 relatives. Everybody's going to the Suscella home in Sarasota.
By JEFF HARRINGTON
Published September 3, 2004
No one has to tell Nancy Suscella that hotel rooms and shelter space on Florida's west coast are at a premium this weekend.
She's doing her best to accommodate as many hurricane evacuees as possible - personally.
At last count, Suscella was expecting 13 relatives/evacuees from various points on Florida's east coast to stay at her Sarasota home this weekend in an impromptu family reunion.
There's her son's wife, daughter and grandmother from West Palm Beach and the rest of the clan from the Palm Bay/Melbourne area: a sister and her husband; a niece, her husband and their two children; her other sister and her husband; and her own mom and dad.
Plus, a Labrador from Palm Bay, two cats from Jupiter and three birds from Melbourne. She drew the line when her niece asked to bring along her two pet snakes, Jackie and The Beanstalker.
"My poor Snickers," Suscella said, referring to her own golden retriever, who isn't used to sharing the family's four-bedroom spread.
Not to mention her poor husband, Kirk, who had planned a much smaller Labor Day weekend gathering. "He says, "Just shoot me now,' " Suscella said, laughing.
By Thursday, the entire group was en route.
The only family member who won't be there is the one who originally planned to be.
Her son, Kirk Jr., works for Florida Power & Light. He'll be stationed in the utility's hurricane center in Miami, ready to help restore power to affected areas, as he did after Hurricane Charley.
Suscella, who works in downtown St. Petersburg as an executive assistant to BB&T Florida president Bill Klich, said her family's evacuee list just snowballed. But she didn't mind.
"It's nice. We all get along together," she said. "We'll just cook out."
Her sole plea: "Do not send any more to my house."
