hurricane — Page 3

Praying

September 9, 2017 at 10:17 am by Claudia

This photo is of the beach we frequent when we are visiting my sister in Florida. It’s on Honeymoon Island and it’s lovely. I’ve spent many hours there with my sister and with Don.

Last night, I came home from the theater and turned on MSNBC, only to learn that Hurricane Irma has moved west and that it seemed to be on track to head up the west coast of Florida, which is, of course, where my loved ones live. There are evacuation warnings for Zones A and B, but I believe they live in Zone C. I talked to Mere yesterday via texts (this was before the change in track) and they are prepared and hunkering down.

Many years ago, I rode out a hurricane when I was visiting Mere and her husband in Tarpon Springs. Because it was off-season, it was called the No Name Storm, but it was a hurricane. It was terrifying. The damage and destruction left in its wake was indescribable.

So many are in the path of this monstrous storm and my prayers are with them. It’s all I can think about this weekend and even though I have to work and take notes and talk to the actors, my thoughts are elsewhere.

Prayers. Prayers. And more prayers.

That’s all I’ve got for you today, my friends. For those of you in Irma’s path, stay safe. Be wise. Know that the thoughts and prayers of millions are with you.

Much love,

They Need Our Help

November 4, 2012 at 8:15 am by Claudia

It’s going down to 28 degrees tonight. And the next few nights are also expected to bring temperatures that are below freezing.

We have heat. We have shelter. We have food and water.

It could easily be a different scenario. We live in upstate New York, relatively close to New York City. We suffered during Hurricane Irene. Many of my neighbors experienced flooding and some of them lost their homes. The path of Hurricane Sandy affected us, yes, but somehow we escaped the brunt of her wrath.

I know that all of you have watched in horror as television networks have documented the devastation. Our local news comes from New York City, therefore, the coverage we have seen has been even more extensive. Short of permanently turning off the television, there has been no way to escape the very real and heartbreaking losses my fellow Northeasterners are suffering. Nor would I want to.

Everything else pales in comparison.

We’ve given to the Red Cross.

The neighboring town is collecting donations that will be transported to Staten Island, Long Island, New Jersey, Hoboken, wherever help is needed. We will be contributing.

As you enjoy your Sunday in your home, with heat and water and a bed to sleep in, with food to eat and clothes to wear and a car with gasoline in the tank, please take a moment to contribute something to those victims of Hurricane Sandy. Ten dollars. That’s all. More, if you can; but everyone, even those of us who are struggling to pay the mortgage and our bills, has ten dollars. Our fellow citizens need your help.

Thank you.

Riveted

October 31, 2012 at 9:21 am by Claudia

We’ve been camped out in the den, watching our local stations out of NYC. They’ve been preempting regular programming with coverage of the hurricane and its aftermath. I couldn’t stop watching yesterday as I tried to comprehend the damage to the infrastructure of Manhattan, the horrendous damage to the shoreline of New Jersey, the loss of life, the fire that destroyed over a hundred homes in Queens, a tree falling on a young couple walking a dog – it just goes on and on. It’s really all I can think of right now. We were incredibly lucky. Millions of others were not. This tragedy has just stopped us in our tracks. My sense of humor isn’t working very well at the moment.

Finally, we stopped for a while and played Scrabble. The previous night of very little sleep may have blunted our Scrabbley-wordy skills, but we had fun. I won. I tell you, it’s all in the tiles you draw. I managed to draw Q and Z and that made all the difference.

I really can’t think about anything for any length of time other than those who have lost so much and the heartbreak I feel for this part of our country that is so dear to me. It has been ravaged, stripped and forever changed.

But I try. I took all the plants back outside to the porch, stowed all the flashlights and lanterns. We ate food that Don had precooked the day before when he was worried that all our frozen food might spoil if we lost our electricity. It makes for easy meal prep, that’s for sure. I may keep this alyssum inside for a bit longer. I like the way it looks here. Has anyone ever kept alyssum as a house plant?

And in the ‘Duh’ category, when I was preparing to bring all my potted plants in before the hurricane hit, I cleaned out a few pots that held all-but-dead plants. One of them had a sweet potato vine in it. As I took it to the compost pile, I had trouble dumping all the potting soil. My fingers kept running into something beneath the soil. What was it?

Am I the only one out there who was surprised to see an actual sweet potato underneath the soil?

I felt like an idiot.

I’m charmed by it. It’s sitting in a place of honor in the kitchen right now.

Hey, sometimes the simplest thing can bring a smile to my face. Or make me laugh at myself.

Thank goodness. I need that right now.

Happy Wednesday.

Praying

They Need Our Help

Riveted

claudiahillsparks

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