I thought this was a nice piece of writing in the feature section today:
Seeing the destruction in Gulf Shores, I felt a little like “The Great Santini’s" kid. In Pat Conroy’s novel, when the overbearing pilot dies in flight, the oldest son agonizes, thinking his curses took form and slapped his old man from the sky.
I felt the same way watching condominiums topple. Mwah-hah hah! Er, I mean, awwww.
Of course I didn’t want people to get hurt. But what a dream, that someday a mighty wind would wipe clean those hulking beige monoliths scarring the land, reserving the good view for those who can afford it.
*snip*
From the beach we get raging power and beauty, electric wildness and, yes, love.
But when bullies lurk tall and eat that skyline, it strangles the magic. The biggest heartbreak, seeing toppled condos, is knowing someone’s planning to rebuild, higher, wider, uglier.
Oblivious.
Before that can happen: Anybody up for a drive?
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040924/NEWS/409240302/1077/entertainment4(free reg. required, but bugmenot suggests:
skilet1@blah.com
light3