Thursday, November 01, 2012

Thoughts on the Passing of Sandy

     This is Bill posting. Lida and I moved here five years ago this fall. After spending threes days hunkering down against the visit of Hurricane Sandy, I have two thoughts. First, I can now say without hesitation that my least favorite weather is wind. It howled. It gusted. And my house shook and rocked. And this was not a "passing storm"; it carried on for three days. It is not relaxing to lie in bed and feel the house sway. And at several moments when I was not aware of my house swaying and rocking, and found myself standing over my toilet, I was amazed to see the water sloshing around in the bowl. That's where I actually would like to have seen Jim Cantore: down there shouting up to me about why that was happening!

     Second thought: About a year ago Lida paid good money for a pair of hip waders. At the time I thought, "What a waste of our money; we already have two good pairs of rubber boots that come up almost to our knees." Then Sunday morning I walked down my front steps in a pair of those babies. The water was within about 2 inches of over topping them and I still had another step to go!  At that point I thought "What a smart shopper Lida is!"

     Ocracoke came through well. Our thoughts are with those who did not. 

 Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of Ocracoke and the War of 1812. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news102112.htm

5 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:54 AM

    Bill, your account of weathering Sandy on Ocracoke paints a sobering picture for NC Mainlander.

    I'm thankful you and Lida are safe and sound. The comment about the water in the commode "sloshing" reminded me of the film clip I saw on TV. It was a person's tub, filled with water, in NYC. It, too, was "sloshing" due to the strong winds. Something one doesn't see often.

    I have been in serveral storms, but never on an island, except one N'eastor which blew through Ocracoke in October, 2010. That was an experience for me, but nothing like what you have experience with Sandy. I have gone through Fran in NC; Camille and Agnes in VA and Gloria in NYC. Gloria caused the hotel I was staying to sway, too. It was a bad feeling. Fran caused extensive damage in the Northern Piedmont due to strong winds and torrential rain. I was humbled, that's for certain.

    Thank you for your post this morning. I, too, am thinking of those who didn't fare well during Sandy. We need to be thankful for our lives.

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  2. Anonymous9:31 AM

    Great comments. Waders are next on my shopping list. We are so very lucky here on OI. Send my thoughts and prayers out to those who took the brunt. May they dry out soon. Jude W

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  3. Anonymous9:42 AM

    As Rudyard Kipling said, "A woman's guess is much more accurate than a man's certainty."

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  4. Anonymous12:56 PM

    After being on the island this past May with the rain and gusty winds, I know what you are speaking of. The swaying of the rental house and the popping of the windows due to the wind gusts were stressful at least for this country girl.

    Glad to hear the island fared well.

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  5. PeteV7:55 PM

    I live in Widgeon Woods with Bill and Lida. For me it wasn’t the wind but the water that bothered me most. Waking up on Sunday morning, the house was surrounded by water and there appeared to be a current running from the marsh through our dirt road. It wasn’t until when Bill showed up in those huge waders to make sure we were alright that I finally relaxed.

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