A storm's a comin'..

Five years ago tonight, we were preparing for a hurricane strike. We had a house in Bedford, Nova Scotia. The weather folks had been mentioning throughout the previous days that we should expect Hurricane Jaun to give us "a strong wind event", but they failed to realize how bad it was going to be. Only late in the day did it dawn on them that the storm was not weakening as expected, and would make landfall, at high tide, in the capital city of the province.

The damage from the storm was dramatic. Sailboats were strewn about on people's back yards. lifted up and dumped there by the incredible winds and high tide storm surge. Throughout the city, massive trees, which has withstood hundreds of years of Maritime storms, were blown over like matchsticks. On our street, only our house , and the one next to us, owned by a dear old gentleman, were untouched. Everyone else had some sort of storm damage, from trees blown over, and in some cases, into peoples houses, to siding and roofs torn completely off.

What stays with me these years later were some of the memories of what happened during the storm.

Our master bedroom featured a large picture window. As the hurricane began to hit us, I peered out of the window, watching in awe as the massive oak tree across the street was bending like a young sapling. It was then that I noticed that the pressure from the wind was flexing the glass in and out agian, like a large piece of card board. Alarmed, I moved Shelly and the kids( 5 and 2 at the time, and terrified by the howling winds) into a back bedroom.
There was a set of train tracks about 100 yards behind our house. In the time that we lived there, we became accustomed to the daily rumble of large freight trains rolling by, on their way to Montreal and beyond. Sometime around 1 a.m., as the hurricane was in full throttle, I was astounded to hear the familiar booming rumble of a train. What was a train doing out this late, and in the teeth of a hurricane? I was wrong.When you hear people describing the sound of a storm resembling a freight train, they are only partially correct; it also feels like one. The ground shakes, and the wind takes on a life of its own.
As we lay in our bed, frankly in fear of the storm, the house swayed from side to side, as the wind pushed anf shoved with all its fury. Then, I clearly felt the house lift, as the wind pushed up against the eaves, trying to tear our roof off. Fortunately, we lived in a house that was built strong.

And now, exactly five years later, Hurricane Kyle is bearing down on our part of Canada. We now live in an area away from the coast, that won't expect to feel the full effects of the storm. However, Yarmouth Nova Scotia is due for the full brunt of the storm, which will likely weaken to a tropical storm, but still be dangerous. I lved there a few years ago; there are plenty of friends and family there, whom I hope are prepared with flashlights, water, and good company. It will be a long, eventful night.