I think that it’s finally stopped raining. Watching the news last night makes me feel so lucky, no washed out roads, flooded basements or power outages that I know about here. That seven miles of water that separate us from them also seems to separate us from the disasters that befall other communities, especially those close to moving water. We may get high tides and barrier beach openings, but we’re already cognizant of the hazards of coastal living. We watch miles of beach erode, and keep moving lighthouses back from the edge, but it’s never a surprise. For us it’s a dramatic ride along the beach road, observing the fury of nature first hand. Then go home and make dinner. We aren’t out on the water; we aren’t watching the river crest and fill our basements. We are safe and just enough above sea level to go to bed without worrying. If only our insurance companies were so complacent. By examining their computer models, many of them have dumped island homeowners on the once in a millenium forecast that the island might sink. True. I wonder now if those people in Freetown or Stonington’s Birdland will be dumped by their insurance companies now that their roads have washed out and their homes are swimming pools. Let’s hope not.
