Hurricane Season

The "Flood" behind our cottage.
Katrina pushed this boat three miles inland.

It's been predicted there is an 81 per cent chance that at least one major hurricane would make U.S. landfall in 2006. Even before leaving Pass Christian, MS last month, people were anxiously looking toward the next season which officially begins June 1. There are still many blue tarped roofs not to mention thousands still living in temporary FEMA trailers. These people fully understand how vulnerable they are and how quickly life can change.

This past week I was joined by several family members to replace the roof of the carport at our family cottage on Glen Lake, (The Most Beautiful Place in the World . . . According to daughter Debra. Read her description: http://www.wierenga.com/galleries/glenlake/DebMstBeau.html and her other poetry at: www.debrawierenga.com) O.K. so that was a commercial!

We had a violent storm. It scattered deck furniture and waves surged 10 feet on the beach. Gary and Ben rushed the season a bit and had to retrieve their boat, anchored some 50 yards off shore. No big deal in the summer but with water temperature hovering around 45 degrees it became a major challenge to get it into a neighbors lift station before suffering hypothermia.


Ten foot surge with 5 foot waves, you say? What about a three mile surge with 30 foot waves? O.K. no comparison.

Those of us that live outside the hurricane zone can only imagine what it must be like to have lost everything and now being forced to think about the next disaster. How quickly we become complacent and fail to see the lasting suffering so many victims of hurricane quatrain still endure.