Scourge of Michael

Monstrosity of darkness, howling winds and waves of ferocity ~

Homes swept away, steel shells of grand buildings left in tortuosity ~

Scourge of God, perhaps, or mindless chance,

Who really knows about the turbulent dance

That we call by the same name as the warrior archangel of heaven,

Which beckons recognition of power in a position of submission,

And all our glory from before lies shattered on the floor of earth,

As the storm sunk the worth of worldly goods, leaving us in dearth,

And so though we cast our bread upon the water, the pain will last

As we hold fast to some sliver of hope among death and destruction, 

While we arduously work at reconstruction in upward direction

Without any eruption in jubilee, for we mark our enemy in the sea,

Wondering when we will next be forced to flee such dark reality

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Michael Madness: The Hurricane Rolled Through

“The fury of Hurricane Michael hit the Wiregrass late Wednesday afternoon, less than an hour before the eye of the storm passed near Gordon in Houston County as a Category 3 hurricane.

The storm felled hundreds of trees, caused thousands to go without power and led to flash flooding in several areas. Wind gusts were reported near 90 miles per hour on the east side of the eye and more than 60 miles per hour on the west side.

It could take days before the full extent of the damage is known, but it appears Hurricane Michael is the most powerful storm to hit Houston County in recorded history,” as reported by the Dothan Eagle on October 11th.

Where I live, near the small town of Ashford, just southeast of Dothan, Alabama, at least one tornado swept through within 1/2 mile (.8 km) of my house. The power went out early on during the storm and is still out. The work load for Alabama Power is overwhelming, to say the least, and the rural areas are, unfortunately, low on the totem poll. In fact, my best friend ~ also my next door neighbor ~ told me just this morning that power lines were still down all over the immediate area.

Very thankfully, we were both sparred any substantial damage and, of course, came through Hurricane Michael without loss of life or limb, as did everyone in my family who lives in the Wiregrass Area of the state. However, one of my sisters had a rather large tree fall on one end of her house. Thankfully, they were all in the other end of the residence … which is an interesting story in itself.

It seems they were watching the local weather the night before the raging storm, and the meteorologist cautioned his audience that the winds would actually be rotating around and down from the north, making it very advisable to seek secure shelter in another part of whatever home or building. My sister and her family took him at his word. Everyone abandoned their bedrooms on the north end, opting to camp out in the living room, which is slightly lower anyway (in their slightly split-level house.)

Sure enough, the large tree came crashing through, but they were safe! As soon as reasonably possible, they called the local news channel to thank the weather man for his life-saving advice and, of course, we were (are) all very thankful! Trees and power lines down is one thing. We can live with the inconvenience. (Hell, most of the world lives with this “inconvenience” 24/7!) But loss of life, or serious injury, is another matter altogether. A roof can be replaced. So can power lines. But the life of a loved one? No.

To my readers and fellow bloggers: Sorry I haven’t been on here posting and reading, but as you can imagine, I haven’t had Internet access till now. At the writing of this blog, in fact, I’m at my other sister’s house. More later… Blessings to one and all!