East Coast Stormy Waters and Hurricanes

"Stormy Seas" by MM Sikes, Woman's Care, Williamsburg, VA

September is the time of year when hurricanes tend to disrupt the lives of those living on the East Coast. Thankfully, Hurricane Earl gave Virginia only a glancing blow today. It also brought our small Tidewater community some much-needed rain and no wind.

Still, some folks I take aerobics classes with were worried about the flooding high tides might bring to low-lying areas of the Gloucester/Mathews Middle-Peninsula. And with wind, there's always the concern about power outages--an especially traumatic situation for writers. Even those with generators don't want to chance using their computers.

On September 18, 2003, Hurricane Isabel struck a devastating blow to our little community. The winds swept up the York River and gave our town a direct hit. We lost most of the trees in our orchard and a giant oak tree in our woods. A tree next to our house fell away from it instead of on it. We were fortunate. People living on the York lost homes or had homes that were badly flooded. One property owner watched her piano float up the river. We were without power for days; some people living in our county went weeks before their power was restored.

Earl and Isabel are examples of how we depend on nature being kind to us. A resident of the Outer Banks of North Carolina commented that she enjoys the beauty of her surroundings so much, she is willing to deal with the weather worries for a few days a year.

I enjoy my surroundings as well. I love looking out into the woods that form the view from my writing office. However, I'll never forget that night seven years ago when rain pounded our windows and trees crashed all around.