Carolina ( back ) on my mind
“In my mind, I’m going to Carolina” … and what my mind sees is a 25-foot sailboat laying on her port side in the middle of an intersection about a mile up from the ocean. The hull has been almost sliced in half by the remnants of a couple of pine trees. The boat isn’t the only debris in the intersection, it is littered with twisted metal, more fallen trees, cars with no windows and even a dead dog. The air not just humid, its wet, saturated with the pungent aroma of fresh pine – the result of acres of pine forest decapitated by the hurricane force wind.
This is what my mind sees as I write this post, about 24 hours before Hurricane Irene slams the Carolina coast. It’s a memory I have from covering the last monster storm to ravage the region 19 years ago, when Hurricane Andrew ripped through the exact same path leaving me and thousands (who did not evacuate) stranded for three days without food, water, power, or gasoline. ( click to hear what it takes to get gas, or to lose your house )
I feel sorry for those living in the Carolinas who are 20 years old or younger. It will be the first major hurricane of their lives, and they have no idea what is about to hit them.
God bless.