Friday, August 24, 2007

TWO GREAT DISASTERS ALMOST TWO CENTURIES APART

Fifteen years ago on this day, Hurricane Andrew slammed into Florida and caused monumental damage in the millions of dollars. My John was living in Fort Lauderdale with his mom and sister at the time and describes it as if "hell was imposed on Earth" It was strange: it almost destroyed an air force base and yet a nearby apartment building went completely unscathed and untouched. Nature is one strange and unpredictable force. On the same day in 79AD, the greatest volcanic eruption known to man-- good old Mount Vesuvius erupted destroying completely two cities including Pompeii. Two disasters on the same day almost two centuries apart. I am surprised to learn that Vesuvius is the only volcano on the European mainland that has erupted in the 20th century. The last time was 1944. The other famous volcanoes are both on Islands. Well, I have the day off today and I plan to write. I finally finished the re-write on the musical "A Moment With Mister "C"-- good grief, other than last year when i re-typed it back into the computer, this is the first time that I have touched this work in over twenty years-- and guess what? I discovered it was just as funny, just as endearing and made me cry in the ver same way that it did all those many years ago. Now I need to find a new venue to get this classic re-staged.

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