A Soaker

Early yesterday morning the heavens opened up. Looking out my bedroom window I saw the trees dancing in the wind. It looked like a hurricane; the rain was driven sideways. By the time I stepped out onto the front porch the storm had mostly passed by, and wide, deep puddles lay in Lawton Lane. We needed the rain. The island has been so dry that a pickup truck almost got stuck in my parking area.

Years ago, before the municipal water system, islanders would have been desperate for rain as cisterns went empty or nearly so. There would have been no frivolous wasting of precious water, so there would have been no baths. What a welcome relief to have rain.

This month's newsletter is a story of Captain Joe Burrus, last Ocracoke lighthouse keeper before the beacon was electrified and automated. You can read it here.