Category Archives: Life

Dark Age Ruminations (Hurricane Sandy Inspired)

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Let’s think seriously about “apocalypse.” Stay with me. This will be brief. The dictionary definition is:

“noun, the complete final destruction of the world, esp. as described in the biblical book of Revelation; an event involving destruction or damage on an awesome or catastrophic scale: a stock market apocalypse / an era of ecological apocalypse.”

However, I’m not thinking of “apocalypse” in the biblical sense; or in the nuclear-annihilation sense.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Sandy this past week provided us with a  vivid picture of how the apocalypse of modern civilization might go. The suffering of the people of New Orleans, New Jersey, and New York could be widespread in the not-too-distant future. (Any city or state with “New” in its name has reason to be frightened.)

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Lessons From Hurricane Sandy — Part 1 of Many Parts

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It's global warming, stupid

(Photo credit: scriptingnews)

A respectable business magazine is out with the cover headline:

“It’s Global Warming, Stupid”

Fair enough. Quibble about the causes and terminology, if you must, but face reality.

I suggest two related subjects clamoring for serious consideration in the public square (or in smoke-filled back rooms) going forward:

“Geography Is Destiny”

And:

“It’s Infrastructure, Stupid”

What do you think? Suggestions for additional subjects to include in the syllabus? Extra credit for class participation.

— John Hayden

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Surreal Ocean City Beach And Sky After Hurricane Sandy, A Photo Story

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Dancing sand moving machines

Surreal photos of the Ocean City, Maryland, beach and sky Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012, the day after Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey and moved inland. Photos made possible by my new digital camera. No extra charge for the words.

Shoreham Hotel with Irish pub @ 4th St. stands tall after the storm, reflected in a pool of water deposited at the base of the boardwalk sea wall by Hurricane Sandy.

The little sea wall that saved the Ocean City boardwalk from Hurricane Sandy. How close did the ocean come to the boardwalk? This close, and more.   Continue reading →

Ocean City Survived Hurricane Sandy

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Ocean City and West Ocean City have survived Hurricane Sandy with relatively light damage and less flooding that I would have expected. I just posted a Tuesday noon report at Ocean City Blog, AKA Maryland On My Mind. More photos to come here at Work in Progress later today. — John

Hurricane Sandy Flooding in West Ocean City, MD

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A car tries to navigate a West Ocean City street which flooded at high tide about 8 a.m. Monday morning. The water has since subsided, but another high tide is coming this evening.    Continue reading →

Hurricane Sandy, 1 p.m. Monday Status

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I’ve been posting local updates on Hurricane Sandy from West Ocean City, Maryland on Ocean City Blog at http://marylandonmymind.com.  We’re approaching afternoon low tide so I’m going out to reconnoiter on foot, and possibly move the car to higher ground. We’re expecting the worst of the storm Monday afternoon and night. I’ll try to post some photos and thoughts here later in the day. — John

Waiting for Hurricane Sandy

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Rising water from the marsh creeps closer to houses not far from where I live in West Ocean City. Taken Sunday afternoon. I guess there’s a reason they call this “wetlands.”

10:30 p.m. Sunday, still above water in West Ocean City, MD. (Although my roof is leaking again.) Just finished writing a detailed news report over at Ocean City Blog. It’s raining hard and the wind’s picking up. But this baby is only beginning. They’re calling Sandy a hybrid hurricane/nor’easter now.    Continue reading →

Hurricane Sandy: Worcester County, MD, Warns of “Historic Flooding”

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No one here is taking Hurricane Sandy lightly. The town of Ocean City and Worcester County, which is Maryland’s only oceanfront county, have ordered limited partial evacuations. Good thing the summer tourist season is over, or there’d be a lot more people to evacuate. For specifics, see the Ocean City Blog, AKA Maryland On My Mind.

A prolonged siege of rain, high wind, and flooding is expected. It’s raining now (1:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon), with some very localized flooding already. But the worst is not expected until Monday afternoon and Monday night.     Continue reading →

Early Voting in Maryland

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A GOOD DAY TO VOTE — Nothing I write here, or say or do, is going to change the course of Sandy, whether she be a hurricane or a tropical storm.  Meanwhile,  early voting begins today in Maryland. I’m going over to Berlin (our early voting location in this corner of the state) and say hello to my friends in the parking lot. Then I’ll go inside and vote for my president, Barack Obama, my vice president, Joe Biden, and my U.S. senator, Ben Cardin. And I’ll write in the name of John LaFerla, the official Democratic candidate for Congress. By so doing I’ll also be voting for Peace, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and health care for all.  — John

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Hurricane Sandy, Note No. 1

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CALM BEFORE THE STORM — Hurricane Sandy might become disorganized into a big Tropical Storm by the time she hits Maryland. Or she might roll right over Baltimore as a Cat. 1 Hurricane. Or, if she stays over the Atlantic, Sandy could be Cat. 2 by the time she hits NYC. If she comes inland, hope she at least keeps moving! I don’t want her stopped by cold air from the north, dumping rain and possibly snow on my house for three straight days! — John

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