The Storm Of October 2012

"Floods, fire and millions without power." 

Those were the words at the top of the newscast for October 30, 2012.   Along with the rest of the country, I was glued to my TV set last night watching the coverage of the storm coming ashore and the aftermath of it.  I am thinking and praying for all those affected by this powerful storm.  

 

Did anyone else see the US Coast Guard rescue of the crew from the replica ship of the HMS Bounty off the coast of North Carolina?  (It was a tall sailing ship built for the movie, "Mutiny On The Bounty", the one with Marlon Brando from 1962 and also used in the "Pirates Of The Caribbean" movie.)  The ship was taken out to sea in the hopes of saving it, but the winds were too much and a distress signal was sent.  There was one sent earlier but was then cancelled, and there are some who wonder had they not cancelled it, they all might have been saved.  It's hard to say, hindsight is always twenty-twenty.  I just wish that they all could have been rescued. The captain of the ship is still missing, and one of the crew, a woman by the name of Claudene Christian, died.  She is a descendant of Fletcher Christian, the man who actually led the mutiny on the Bounty.   You may read about Fletcher Christian here. 

 

This is the video of the rescue and I hope that you are able to see it!  (The voice saying "altitude, altitude"  would just get on my nerves so badly!) The waves were sometimes 15 feet high and with the heavy winds, this must have been such a difficult rescue effort.  At one point, the basket bringing up one of the rescued men swings wildly in the wind and it is such an effort for the man on the helicopter to hang on to the rope!  At the very end, when the survivors are on land, one of the men can hardly walk and people start running up with blankets and to help him walk...that is what it is all about, seeing what is needed and getting it done.  I am proud of the Coast Guard and all those who are helping in the rescue and recovery after this terrible storm.

 

And I would like to say, I think we should stop naming hurricanes...I know that it is considered traditional now, but how would you like to have the name "Sandy" or "Katrina"?  It just does not seem right to me... I think one day hurricanes will not be named anymore and you can say that you heard it here first!  And I just saw on the news that there was a hurricane in New York City in 1938 which killed 800 people.  Obviously, with all that is available to us now, there were plenty of warnings and lots of time for those to move to higher ground and to evacuate as needed.  Had these warnings not been given and heeded, this storm could have been even worse. 

 

The following prayer is from the 1789 Book of Common Prayer:

 

  O MOST glorious and gracious Lord God, who dwellest in heaven, but beholdest all things below; Look down, we beseech thee, and hear us, calling out of the depth of misery, and out of the jaws of this death, which is now ready to swallow us up: Save, Lord, or else we perish. The living, the living shall praise thee. O send thy word of command to rebuke the raging winds and the roaring sea; that we, being delivered from this distress, may live to serve thee, and to glorify thy Name all the days of our life. Hear, Lord, and save us, for the infinite merits of our blessed Saviour, thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.