The Frankenstorm

     Watching the coverage last night on the tube reminds us of how lucky we are.  Having spent my life, except for the past several years, living in a coastal city on the east coast, I have endured many hurricanes and north easters that have caused significant damage.  The home in which I was raised was on one of the coastal rivers and as it was being built in 1954 one of the biggest took out a row of pine trees right down across the foundation, while we watched the storm from our little house in a nearby town on another river.  After the house was completed, we watched many times as the water rose near the foundation.  My Dad nailed a wooden block on a tree we could see from the kitchen window, at the level the water would have to rise to enter the lowest level of our split level home, where his office, the utility room and a little room with shelves for canned goods and the freezer surrounded the garage.  The water never quite reached that magic number of feet, though it came within an inch in one storm and lapped on the sidewalk from the garage to the kitchen door.
     We watched as the Ash Wednesday North Easter took out many homes at the North End and Sandbridge and flood the ocean front streets with debris and sand.
     We watched as downtown Norfolk flooded and flood gates were installed.  We watched as Florida and New Orleans were struck and devastated.
     This storm in the mountains was right on the edge of the hurricane winds and the cold front winds that collided right along this ridge of mountains.  We had winds, not hurricane force, but wind gusts of 60-65 mph, we were lucky, no trees down that we can see from the house, the power stayed on providing us with heat, light and water.  We have a fireplace in the living room and a wood stove in the basement, so we could have kept the house moderately warm, but without power, we have no water as we draw water from an 800 foot well.  Perhaps when we built, we should have installed a generator that would at least keep the pump going and the freezer on, but we did not.
     We did have our first snow of the season, earlier than I have experienced since moving here, it did get cold, still is and the wind still blows, but more like it usually does here in this hollow.
     Perhaps as humanity, we shouldn't build cities right hard on the coasts, in areas that are at or below sea level, but then we would build where there are tornados and earthquakes.  I hurt for those who have lost their homes and hope that they can rebuild and start anew.  We were indeed fortunate.