The heat wave continues. An early morning breeze which made the deck pleasant has disappeared. Although this room is the coolest in the house, I’ve already started sweating.

I’m watching the weather as I’m keeping an eye on Earl. The Cape and Islands are on a hurricane watch. We are 24-36 hours out, but Earl’s track seems to be getting closer. I took down all the candles from the trees and will clear more of the deck later. Also, I have to buy a few provisions as the larder is a bit empty. The good news is the weekend weather will be a delight, compliments of Earl.

I remember only one hurricane from when I was a kid, and it was a huge one. I was seven when hurricane Carol hit. Even then I found raging storms mesmerizing, and I remember standing at the picture window in the living room watching the tremendous wind blow the trees nearly to the ground. The rain fell sideways sometimes one way then the other. The house shook. The sound of the wind was tremendous. My mother kept telling me to stay away from the windows, but I just couldn’t. It was like I could feel the wind all through my body.

We heard the loudest crack, ran to the side window and saw the huge oak tree from across the street had broken in half. The top part, with all the branches, had fallen across the road. When the eye of the hurricane arrived, my dad took us so we could check out the tree. There was this eerie stillness outside, and I swear the world was a different color. I remember climbing through the branches and seeing the split trunk. It had been the biggest and oldest tree on the street.

The next day my dad drove us to the ocean so we could see the waves. They were still huge, even tremendous. They washed up and over the seawalls to the street which was covered in water. I wanted to feel the spray from the waves, but my dad wouldn’t stop. We were just one car in a line of cars slowly working  its way up the street as everyone gawked at the power of the wind even a day after the hurricane.