2017 Life Logs, Day 250: Thanks and Praises to the Most High
Date: Thursday, September 7, 2017
Weather: Cloudy and Windy, Clearing in Afternoon; High 71, Low 57 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Studio, Falmouth, MA
Justin, Jo, Ziggy, and Coco are safe and sound. I know that last few days of preparation in anticipation of this monster hurricane bearing down on Puerto Rico made for an emotional roller coaster for them. But at the last minute, Irma made a turn to the north sparing them from the worst. Thanks and Praises to the Most High. When Justin was in college he wrote and performed a song by that name. Ever since then, when I am truly thankful, that song plays over and over in my head. And that song is what I heard this morning when I got the ‘all clear’ email from Justin. I breathed a sigh of relief that I’m sure could be heard ‘round the world. In Justin’s email, he stated all was well, but that the storm left their yard looking like “someone did some very aggressive pruning all over the yard and forgot to clean up.” That can be cleaned up. But they have no electricity and no water. Rain is in the forecast for part of each day though next Monday, and rain is water that can be collected. Electricity is another problem. If they go up on their roof, they can get internet, and the only way to charge phones is by running the car engine and charging off the battery. This is okay for a day or two, maybe even a week, but the reports are saying that some parts of Puerto Rico could be without power for four to six months. Yes, months! You can certainly survive that, but Justin’s business requires that he is on the phone and internet all day every work day. So, we’ll just have to wait and see if Justin can get their solar back-up working and wait to see if their part of Puerto Rico is back on the grid quickly. But more immediately, the worry turns to Florida. My sister-in-law and all of Mark’s family live in Florida. I’ve been in touch with all of them over the past couple of days and can only wish them the best as Irma comes their way. It’s going to be a long weekend.
Speaking of weekends, Heather and family are headed to Maine tomorrow after school. Jed’s aunt is having a 70th birthday party, so this a perfect time for Heather and Jed to go for a weekend visit with Jed’s family. I’ll spend tomorrow getting those 30 pounds of tomatoes turned into sauce and canned and then spend time reflecting on the past year. Monday is the one-year anniversary of Mark’s death, and I have to admit that I am not looking forward to that. I’m going to spend the weekend trying to think of a positive way to spend that day in his honor.
And speaking of days, today Ollie and I had a very special time together. We just hung out at my place this morning, but this afternoon we managed an invitation to go behind the scenes at the National Marine Life Center. This is the center just on the north side of the Cape Cod Canal that takes in seals and turtles that have been hurt or abandoned. There they are rehabilitated in order to release them back into the wild. Earlier in the summer, Ollie and I visited the Marine Life Center and adopted a young harbor seal, Rachel Carseal, named after the world renown conservational Rachel Carson. In May, Rachel was separated from her mother and stranded at Chebeague Island, Maine. When I contacted President and Executive Director of the Center, Kathy Zabzebski, she invited Ollie to come see Rachel in person before her release. We got to tour the animal hospital and see all of the seals and turtles there.
Then we went to nearby Scusset Beach for the release of Rachel, Ralph Waldo Emerseal, Seally Ride, and Emmy Rosseal. Finally, the sun was shining and it was a lovely evening on the beach.
Ralph Waldo Emerseal was the first in the water with Emmy Rosseal. Rachel and Seally Ride were a little slower to head out, but when they finally dove in, Ollie wished them a “happy life” in the sea.
Then he insisted that we go see Kathy Zagzebski to say goodbye. What a kid!
