The eye is 135 miles away from my house, and its about as close to me as its going to get. The weather here has been breezy and overcast, but not particularly menacing; we never lost power. I got away easily again, indeed, it appears Florida is going to miss this one altogether. I suppose this afternoon I’ll start opening up the shutters and unpacking the garage.

But this morning when I went out to look around there was still a feeling that there was a monster lurking nearby, just over the horizon. A slight drizzle was falling, and there was a brisk breeze, neither particularly scary, but the low scud clouds racing
overhead from the NW were evidence that the Beast was still out there, and it was still hungry.

No loss of life here in S Florida, no property damage. Pretty soon people will start coming out of hiding and the town will get back to normal. But we need a reminder every now and then that the world is still out there, doing its thing, and it doesn’t care, or even know, that we are here.

A few years ago, during another storm, I recall a TV reporter interviewing a meteorologist about a particularly destructive cyclone. She seemed almost personally insulted; “Why do we have these storms? Just what GOOD are hurricanes anyway?” The weatherman seemed a bit puzzled by the tone of the question, but he answered in pretty much the same way I would have; “Hurricanes are just one way the Earth moves excess heat away from the equator and towards the poles.” Once again, we are reminded, there is a reason for everything but a purpose to nothing.

The world is not out to get us, but neither is it placed here for our benefit. We just scratch out a living along the more tranquil pools and eddies beside a great flood. Those poor unfortunates in the Bahamas did not deserve the tragedy that has just visited them. They were just in the way. And I and my loved ones did not deserve to be spared those same horrors. We simply were not.

We are not helpless victims. We can learn as much as we can from history and the world around us, and we can affect and influence our surroundings, avoid or shelter from the worst. We can use our knowledge and our strength to take steps, learn, mitigate, even exploit our world. And we can always consult and work together with our fellows. But basically, we all cling to a precarious existence at the edge of chaos. And we need to be reminded occasionally.

But I must admit, after a lifetime in Florida, and dozens of storms, this one’s really got me spooked. I have a bad feeling about Dorian. The conditions are perfect for disaster.