Balance

This week I'm feeling quite grateful. Grateful for the bulb that burns on my desk while I work and read day or night; grateful for the flame that flickers to boil water for coffee or tea; grateful for the warm water that flows from my faucet to wash my hands and hair.

Yet, although Hurricane Irene spared us here on Long Island, I can't help but fret about the future, that nature's fury will continue to accelerate.

Yes, the water didn't rush up the one block from the bay to my house and flood my first floor as I feared it might for the first time since living near the coast for almost 20 years. And although I spent just one night away from home and lost power for just two days, I'm concerned about those affected in other areas, especially those devastated upstate and in Vermont.

Unless we heed nature's warnings and work tirelessly to find a better balance between consumption and conservation, we'll have to hope that we all can learn how to walk on water.

Hanging Out

As I cover my office equipment, pack up my photo albums and before I move my computer upstairs to higher ground before Hurricane Irene hits tomorrow, I thought about this collage completed last month and now hanging over the reference desk at the Westhampton Library until Sept 1st.

Called Hanging Out, its background is a composite of three images taken in Guatamala of a volcano. Yes, that's real lava that we were allowed to hike up to and even touch if we dared on a group trip taken there in 2008. And the characters floating on its crest are people I've come in contact with over the years.

Anticipating the course of the next two days, it seems that after we've bought flashlights, batteries, candles and peanut butter, there's not much more we can all do but hang out, hope for the best and see what happens...