Hurricanes Die in Cold North Atlantic
By Tom Barnes2008 Hurricane Watch, 1945 Hurricane XI, Storm Clouds over Tombstone and writers tip from Edna Ferber.
Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. Will Rogers 2008 Hurricane Watch October 15th Tropical Storm Omar made its appearance known as it moved north from the Leeward Islands, past St. Croix, and the Virgin Islands. High winds of 85 mph were reported on October 16th when Omar was located 180 miles north northeast of the Leeward Islands. The storm continued north as it raced into the open waters of the Atlantic and on October 19th met its demise in the cold waters of the North Atlantic. During the past several days the western Caribbean has been experiencing rain showers but no tropical storm activity reported. Stay tuned. 1945 Category 2 Hurricane XI Excerpt from The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle. I took off my earphones and maneuvered into position where I could get a good look at the model of a near perfect hurricane. Then when I thought about it, even without the earphones on, I could still hear the echoes of those anguished and panic stricken voices announcing their own doom via short-wave radio. While we flew high above it all in the relative calm those island people had nowhere to go, and no place to hide. The hurricane continued along its north by northeast path and because of the heavy rain clouds and rain preceding the storm we were unable to observe what was going on down below. However, the airwaves were full of reports, some in panic and others calmly reporting the details. We hung around the area long enough to chart the storms movement across Little Abaco Island. Fortunately for those people Hurricane XI dropped in intensity from a Category 2 to a Category 1 storm. And the damage to Little Abaco Island was far less than they expected. The storm continued north into the open sea, but even with no land in its path it continued to menace the Atlantic sea-lanes for another two and a half days before falling apart somewhere northwest of Bermuda on the sixteenth day of October 1945. 1945's Hurricane XI, the final event of that season, and last weeks Omar followed similar paths into the Atlantic and essentially found the same graveyard in the cold waters of the North Atlantic. Storm clouds over Tombstone Excerpt from Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone. Late in the afternoon, October 24, 1881, Doc and Wyatt were with Virgil in the chief's office, which was located above the Golden Eagle Saloon. The three of them were looking at and commenting on a bunch of wanted posters. Wyatt handed Doc the last of the posters and crossed to the window. He looked down on the intersection of Fifth and Allen Streets and made a terse observation. "Looks like a Saturday afternoon crowd. Trouble is it's Monday." "The cowboys have been in and out of the Oriental for two days," Virgil said as he pondered the subject and rubbed the day old stubble on his chin. Doc puffed on his cigarette. "You could figure it to be a convention of the ring's field representatives, but there seems to be one element missing -- Ike's group." "I hadn't given that a thought," Virgil said, "but you're right, Doc. I haven't seen 'em either." Wyatt gazed down at the street, then he signaled the others to come closer. A large group of cowboys were leaving the Oriental. Virgil ticked off the names, "Curly Bill, Johnny Ringo, Pony Deal, Frank Patterson, Florintino Cruz, and Hank Swilling." Doc pointed to one of the men. "What's that fellow's name, Virg?" "That's Florintino Cruz, sometimes known as Indian Charlie." Wyatt's curiosity peaked asked, "What about him, Doc?" "Probably nothing. It's just that late one night a while back, Morg and I flushed him out of the alley between the pool hall and the Alhambra. He said at the time he was just taking a piss, and I paid no attention to it. But the way things are shaping up now it sure makes you wonder?" Writers Notebook: Edna Ferber from A Peculiar Treasure. You read what you wrote yesterday. Not so terrible. With a soft lead pencil you make some changes, tightening a line there, crossing out a word here, inserting a margin note for the next draft. I have learned not to tear up my stuff until I've slept on it. I have sometimes written page after page through the work day in a kind of agony of ineffectualness, feeling weary, limp and unvital, only to discover on reading it bright and fresh next morning that the stuff has, somehow miraculously, pace and meaning. Stephen King agrees with Ferber's overnight concept as pointed out in Writers Notebook August 13th 2008.
About the Author
Tom Barnes -- Actor, Writer and Hurricane Hunter. Check out my website for books, blogs, western legends, a literary icon, reviews and interviews. Also my novels The Goring Collection and Doc Holliday's Road to Tombstone along with a non fiction remembrance of The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
www.tombarnes39.com
www.RocktheTower.com
More Books by Tom Barnes
The Goring Collection
The Hurricane Hunters and Lost in the Bermuda Triangle
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