This has to have been the most exciting, scary and successful Jam yet! There's nothing like a hurricane to shake things up a bit!

We all watched the weather for several days prior to departing for Jamaica. Yes, there were hurricanes; yes, we were nervous. But there was no way we were going to back down!

The first few days of the Jam went well. All kinds of people were in attendance from prior years: Bobby, Jerry, Jim, Missy, Nancy, the Jamaica Waterslide Team, and more. And of course, our group leaders: Roy, Lynne, Blind Dog, Blake, Jeff, Mike and Brian. We performed each day and night, keeping our eyes on the clouds.

When it became clear that Hurricane Ivan was going to hit Jamaica, Mr. Levee, the General Manager, ordered everyone to the main dining room. He set up a temporary shelter inside the Pastafari restaurant where we could all sleep. Before the bars closed, we all filled up our glasses and coffee makers with liquor to get us through the storm.

Those of us who chose to stay in our rooms put plastic up around the doors to keep out the wind and rain. The staff tied down everything that might blow away, and threw all of the lounge chairs into the pool. The main restaurant was giving away Heineken beer non-stop, trying to keep everyone from focusing on what was to come.

The hurricane came in with gale force winds of up to 200 miles per hour. Those of us with plastic on our doors stayed dry. Other rooms had soaked floors, or water dripping through the ceiling. The most interesting thing was that inside the Quad complex, there was no wind. We could see security guards standing by the pool, without any hair blowing. Amazing!

The next morning, we all ventured out to see the damage. Already, the staff was working hard to clean up fallen trees, leaves and other trash. There were a few broken windows, but all-in-all, we made it through the storm!

What to do now? Since the staff was busy with clean-up, all scheduled activities were canceled. So, we got everyone together, and began a Jam session in the piano bar. The bar there was closed, so people brought trays of drinks in as they arrived. This Jam session lasted 8 hours, and was the best time we have ever had!