OK--so Linda and I go on vacation and head north. Places like Michigan, New York and Massachusetts. We figure we'll escape some of Florida's summer heat and humidity for a little while, and we won't be looking over our shoulders for hurricanes.
Well, it has been cooler! But as for the hurricanes . . . .
When I first heard reports about a tropical storm named Irene heading for our shores, I began to worry about the folks back home in Fort Myers and Sanibel. Little did I imagine we'd get caught in the middle of it! But so it was. As we hunkered down at our daughter's home outside of Boston, we watched and waited as the winds and rains grew in intensity. It wasn't quite a hurricane when it reached us, but it still knocked down some nearby tree limbs, and flooded the floor of the passenger side of our car. The city transportation system was closed down for the day. Many churches canceled their services. And we ended up altering our plans to go to Martha's Vineyard.
All that said, though, it wasn't much more (for us) than a major inconvenience.
But others were not so fortunate. According to the Boston Globe, 650,000 customers in Massachusetts lost power. And many, many more along the East Coast. Experts estimate that the storm caused over 7 billion dollars in damage. And worst of all 21 folks lost their lives.
On this sixth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, things seem to pale in comparison. Yet, if you lost power, if you lost property, if your loved one lost his or her life, comparisons don't really matter, do they? And to those who complain we "over prepared" I say, thank God you are still able to complain!
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