Week 97: From Helene to Hezbollah

Nearly every day this September month provided near perfect weather: clear sunny skies and cool crisp nights, which made viewing the super moon exceptional. THEN, the wrath of what was Hurricane Helene swirled some
nasty and wet weather toward us that resulted in much needed water to quench the August drought… Little did I know that at the same time, Helene decimated many southern states, especially North Carolina. Haunting images began emerging in the media as the weekend progressed. At first, I had difficulty discerning between overzealous news coverage typical of a seasonal hurricane to authentic devastation. Sadly, the latter became the terrible reality. Prior to Helene’s destruction, she was a mere tropical storm that threatened parts of the Gulf. As expected with any tropical storm yearning to be a hurricane, headlines reported tens of thousands of homes in beach communities would be without power. As Helene grew in strength before plummeting the southern coastal cities,
her disastrous legacy grew too. Now, Helene’s remnants of destruction to life and loss of property casts a too familiar shadow left from Hurricane Katrina almost twenty years earlier. For Helene, towns completely washed away, lives lost, injuries soared, homes destroyed, faiths shook, recovery enacted, and healing inevitable. Once again, Mother Nature starkly reminded us of our fragility. She continues to expose our vulnerabilities. As fellow humans, we unite during these dark events to bring hope, support, and charity. May God’s healing hand be with these many, many people who have experienced a profound loss.
Since Helene’s peripheral rain had been intermittent, I was able to play some pickleball 🙂 but having to end earlier and earlier each evening since the setting sun arrives much too soon. Overall, the week flew by and was a bit busier than usual in the electric department. I have over 5,000 clocked hours in the apprenticeship, which has turned out to be a fantastic opportunity. FPC Morgantown offers several apprenticeships in dog training, barista, construction, kitchen services, and the newly added personal training. Upon completion of any of these apprenticeships, the clocked hours are logged with the U.S. Department of Labor, which allows any employer or union to verify them. I am very fortunate to be one of two people who has been able to participate in the electric one, which ends with 8,000 hours.
For the most part, I successfully evade discussions among inmates about politics and world affairs. It’s fascinating how many of these guys are renowned political scientists! The cliche of a Miss America contestant wishing for world peace seems to really resonate. I am most concerned about Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Hamas/
Hezbollah/Iran. Israel’s counter-offensives against Hezbollah have certainly been a focus this week, especially after their brilliant pager and walkie-talkie bombs. In the past few weeks, Israel has assassinated Hamas leaders and now Hezbollah leaders! My Newtonian concern is every action has a reaction (ok, a bit dumbed down), but historically, these counter-attacks will have retaliatory reactions, which I hope do not come to fruition. The displacement, injury, and innocent loss of life remains at the forefront of my concern for these people. Sadly, a simple solution remains void, but I am hopeful that peace will eventually reign. That’s my tidbit for the week! As always, thank you for taking the time to check in with my blog and for the continued support and love. Have a great week and continue to be mindful of any little miracle in your life:)