Lucky

After watching the news, I realized how fortunate I was. If the storm had come just a bit further north,  our community on the coast, would have been hit. We’re only a few hundred miles from New York and it looks like a war zone there, along with New Jersey and the surrounding areas. I had no idea. It hit large populated areas. It certainly humbles you.

They pretty much got all the elements. Floods, wind, fire and now the constant smell and sound of natural gas leaking from the streets. Another major worry and danger. Sometimes, the aftermath is almost as bad or worse.

The photo is from the ocean beach near by at 10:00 a.m. the day of the storm. The storm here didn’t hit until 5:00, so I can’t imagine what it looked like hours later. It’s difficult to comprehend the height of the waves through the lens, but believe me, it was quite astounding, even 7 hours before it hit

A 7 ton tanker one mile out in the ocean was pushed to shore by the force of wind and surge of the sea. Actually, it wasn’t the shore. It was a road with so much sand piled up on it, that it looked more like a beach. Houses were lifted from foundations and moved. It looked like a Tsunami had hit.

Many of us, and I include myself here, are so damn stoic, saying I’ll ride this one out. We easterners are a tough bunch. Maybe it’s the severity of weather we’re used to experiencing.

I told my friends I was staying with my house, when they asked me to come closer inland and stay with them. “I’m fine,” I said casually. I was, but never in the back of my mind, could I have conjured up such images from the aftermath of this storm.

I was prepared and ready. I had stocked up on firewood, extra water, candles and food. The images I saw on TV haunted me. These communities were devastated and they were so close.

I know this now. When a huge storm is predicted and it’s suggested you leave, I’m going. If this storm was off by just 100 miles,  I might have felt the wrath of it. I have more respect for the power of nature today. I never want to be  photographed from a rooftop yelling for help, because I was too stubborn to leave first time around. Besides, swimming has never been a strength of mine.

I have woken up. I won’t play games with nature. I feel awful for all the people who have lost their homes and communities. I am grateful I didn’t.  I could have. I am grateful I had a wake up call in time to take notice that this is something non-negotiable. A newscaster was reporting on the storm in one of the devastated areas. He spoke to a man who had lost everything. The man said to him, “Who’s the boss ? Mother Nature.”

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