How Big Was Ike?

One small tail of Ike whipped over Santo Domingo last night.

I had thought that it was long gone, heading west at a fair fast pace. A hard rain started here. at 8 PM. I tucked in early, thinking that the storm had passed us by, praying for the people stranded in Haiti.

But I awoke at midnight as the thunder and lightening started sounding like it was inside my room, inside my head. I awoke and looked out off the enclosed back porch, to see the palm trees bent to horizontal in the lights of the neighboring hotel. I live in a solid building, one that withstood George, a category 5, a direct hit. The building survived that so it would certainly survive this.

This is my first hurricane season in the tropics: my first time sitting so close by to people whom I know will die. I have seen the people who live in the shacks by the river banks, even in this country. I know that they will be wading in water tonight.


I am unaccostomed to being so close to such poverty. I feel helpless and do not know what to do these feelings.

I got up. The power was still on. The cable was even still on. The local cable company has replaced the ¨film and arts¨station with the "weather channel"-- probably just for the next few months. For most of the year here, the weather here is just sunny and beautiful, no news there.

I see that IKE has just made landfall in Cuba.. LANDFALL in CUBA? so let us see... Port au Price is 160 miles from Santo Domingo and Cuba is 90 miles from Port au Prince.... So this storm´s tail is 250 miles from its head? and if its head is now in Cuba, and its tail is now in Santo Domingo... does that mean that the bulk of its body is lying over.....

Haiti

where is the justice in this? it will be easier now for Haiti to rebuild? After the Massive international relief effort arrives?

Certainly that would happen if this were, for instance..

Connecticut..

or Florida.

or even Puerto Rico..

Perhaps even in Mexico City .... or Burma....

but, as we have seen.. it is not quite so likely when the faces are black as midnight, dark as coal.
not even in New Orleans-

It is going to take a very, very long time to unravell the damage that Columbus did when he first landed on this island, bringing, supposedly, the Light of Christ.