Pe Hemeze
Pedro Jose Hemeze was born in Puerto Rico into a family of ten children. He was the youngest and very spoiled. His parents, Jose and Maria still live on the island and his interest in hurricanes came from his living in the Caribbean.
Pe was a brilliant student in the local schools in Los Mareas, Puerto Rico, on the southern coast of the island. He finished high school in three years and was applying for college in Florida by the time he was sixteen.
After earning a full scholarship and a waiver for his age Hemeze attended the University of Southern Florida which was only a short flight from home. They offered Computer Science classes which was his interest. He completed his degree in two and a half years.
After he received his degree, Pe went home for a few months to arrange for his parents to move to Florida, closer to him. Hemeze had already decided to apply for his Master’s Degree in Computer Science and Doctorate of Philosophy with a specialization in Computer Science and Engineering; courses that were offered at USF.
Pe again excelled in his Master’s and Doctorate programs. Before he was twenty-four he was a doctor of computer Science and Engineering with an additional Masters in Engineering Science. The only challenge he had at that time was he didn’t have a job.
The youngest Hemeze son was so busy studying and doing his doctorate thesis that he had no time to look for a job that would conform to his vast training. By accident and through natural circumstances, Pe found the perfect job for his schooling.
The June, after Hemeze received his doctorate, the family and Pe returned to spend the summer in their home in Puerto Rico. Pe’s grandmother was very sick and they were in their home country to give comfort to his grandfather. His grandmother passed away in midsummer.
Later in August a hurricane hit the Island with great force. Pe and his family lost everything including a brother and sister who lived on the east side. His dad and mom were devastated because they had lost two children and that their life savings and work had been poured into their little house in Los Mareas and it was gone in a couple of hours. They all including Pe, were fortunate to get out of the hurricane with their lives.
From that day on the young Hemeze made it a life mission to study hurricanes with the skills he had learned in college, to help prevent just one more family from having to suffer loss just like his family did.
In September, that year, Pe, his parents and his grandfather moved to Miami. After renting a small apartment for the family, the young Hemeze frantically went looking for a good paying job. He worked every odd job he could find just to be able to eat and pay rent.
One day it came to him. Why not apply at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration? He knew he had all the credentials to do a descent job for this government agency. When he applied he was hired almost immediately.
It was only a few months later that NOAA sent him to the conference in Philadelphia where he met Josh Deerly.
Pe did not crave to be famous but he wanted to just help others survive or at least be aware of an oncoming hurricane that could devastate families like his had been.
Later in the day........................Los Angeles, CA
“Pe, this is the plan…You and Sarah work as a team in her car she paid for her own expense account..Ha, Ha. She will arrive in a few hours…You meet her at the airport.”
“How will I get to the airport, boss, I mean Josh?”
“You get a taxi and pay for with your expense account….You think?
“Josh, you are the one who is paid to think…I work with machines and things…..That’s why I make the good money.”
Glenda, who was still very tired from all the traveling the last couple of days, sat quietly listen to Pea and Josh banter. Then she shyly asked, “I suppose this means I have to be partners with your, Josh?”
Josh quickly responded, “You don’t have to but you’d have to walk…I have the car.”
Not to be outdone Glenda, quipped, “I’ll just rent a car with my personal expense account.”
They all laughed.
Two hours later carrying a warm bag of food, Pe greeted Sarah at the airport. He handed her the bag and said, “Josh told me to give this to you. He…he paid for it. Really, I didn’t steal any bites or anything. The smell was driving me crazy. Soooo good.”
“Good to see you, too. It does smell good. Where do we go from here?” Sarah pulled out a chalupa and started eating.
Hemeze stood for a minute to enjoy the aroma and he watched the young female reporter eat. Finally he began, “Oh, we are to…I have a list…in your car and….”
“My car, huh?” She asked through a bite of food.
“That’s what Josh said. You had a car.. and something about your expense account or something.”
“That, Josh, I’m going to ….”
“We need to get going, Sarah…The list is waiting… Where’s your car?”
“Hertz, let’s go!!”
The two friends headed outside to get the car. Sarah looked into the sky and commented, “Pe, look up…The storm is…”
“Yeah, it’s here, sooner than we thought.” Pe said as he looked into the sky. A raindrop hit him in the face.
