I don't plan to make a habit of this, but this weekend, for the first time, I defied a mandatory evacuation.

Don't get me wrong.

I think Gov. Mark Sanford made the right decision in calling a beachfront evacuation Friday evening.

It was important to get the tens of thousands of tourists off the Grand Strand, and there was no better time to do it. Erring on the side of public safety is the way to go.

Having said that, I have to admit that as residents living on the dreaded east side of U.S. 17, my wife and I stayed and waited out Hurricane Charley.

After all, our condominium has survived Hugo, Bonnie, Fran, Bertha, Irene, Earl and Floyd. Charley seemed a pauper by comparison.

As it turned out, staying behind gave us an opportunity to perform a valuable public service - assuring other people in South Carolina, as Charley bore down, that Myrtle Beach would do just fine, thank you.

It happened when we donned our raingear about 9 a.m. and walked down to the beach to witness close-up the magnificent waves we had seen from our window.

The beach was barren as far as the eye could see, except for a small group huddled near the O.D. Horseshoe.

As we walked toward them, one came running to greet us.

"Can we interview you on television?" he asked, sounding desperate.

Sure, we said.

It was WLTX-TV in Columbia, a CBS affiliate, and reporter Bridget Williams wanted to know why we had not evacuated.

Gulp.

We explained that we had family across the Intracoastal Waterway. We could go there if things got bad, but for now, it seemed safe enough.

During a break, I told her was a newspaper columnist. "You interview me, then I'll interview you," I said.

I didn't interview her, but I learned how happy the crew was to see two warm bodies on the beach.

"We were getting ready to go find some people at Waffle House," Williams said.

She ended the interview with a final question: "How will you know when it's time to evacuate?"

"When the cable goes off," I said. "I'll have to go someplace else to watch the PGA Championship."

I guess I lied. When the cable went out, shortly after 11 a.m., we didn't evacuate but spent the next couple hours watching Charley sweep through.

It wasn't a bad show, but I'm sure glad it wasn't a Category 2.

ONLINE | For past columns, go to the Bestler page at MyrtleBeachOnline.com.