It's Saturday, and the day is about to be capped by a gathering of old friends. It makes me think back to those days when work was what we handed in every class, play was sometimes just hanging around the Dairy Queen, and responsibilities was taking out the trash and drying the dishes. Now, thirty years later, we do look at life in a different life, more work, more responsibilities and less play.

Think back to an earlier blog of mine, where I discussed the simple pleasures of life. We all need an escape sometimes, and for me that is often just a walk as part of my weekly regimen. I find that I can concentrate on things other than what bothers me on home turf, and it is liberating to feel.

Older and wiser, I look into each day with an eye to making it better. This is eminently difficult, being unemployed, but doing so makes the days seem more important. I know what my responsibilities are, I know what my limitations are and I know that I can make a difference. Sometimes that is the smile I give someone who doesn't remember what a smile is for; an inquiry of a shopclerk as to how her day is going; a hearty "thank-you" to the serviceman of my car.

I am also coming to grips with the widowhood that envelops me, the grief becoming a smaller part of me none the less. Coming into the third year, I learned that the second was incredibly lonely, and that even community wasn't as helpful as it was in the beginning. I need to face my fears and anxieties head on every day and dig deep to recognize exactly what they were. And I need to trust Him more, the Maker and Savior of my life.

So, to the friends of more than thirty years, I toast to long life and prosperity in your lives. For my friends of lesser time, I appreciate every minute I've been able to spend with you all, and realize that some of you have made a long-lasting impact on me as a person. Thank you.

Until later,

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So, what is the latest Internet buzz? According to three emails I received today, a picture attached is what is causing millions of Internet email receipients to be following the lemmings to the sea. This is the picture:

And, how do we know its a forgery? There's a lot of discussion on the net, such as this blog: Starjewel: A hurricane, but not Isabel, but it's not hit the major news sites yet. The Urban legends sites do point to it, though.

It's Thursday, and time for the genuinely interesting web site of the week (if you don't remember this feature as a weekly thing, well, neither do I.) A web site called Your True Hero (www.yourtruehero.org) has a posting this week from a daughter to her mother. Thank you, Marsaides Martin for a wonderful tribute to your mother, Faith.

If you went to Bellingham, Massachusetts high school in the early seventies (as I did) you might be interested in a project I am doing, a private web site with links to pictures and sounds from that high school experience. Email me for more information.


À bientôt!

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It's amazing how some people come to Southstation.Org on the heels of the search engines. This one takes the cake: from a French visitor, who searched Google.fr on "my+first+spin+the+bottle+party+pictures+kiss." They ended up on my first bio page, where I briefly describe that memorable moment but there are no pictures. I wonder if it was that girl.....

Oh, and I might have to explain the blogged piece below, about Tommy and such. It's one of the short stories I've written, and this one commemorates my early days in Bellingham, Massachusetts. Enjoy.

Just popping in on a boring Sunday afternoon....

À la prochaine,

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September 21, 1938. A hurricane, moving at 60 mph slams into the coast of Long Island, on its way to the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Over 600 lives were lost in this "Great Hurricane," the first to hit Rhode Island since 1815. Today is it's anniversary.

Many people have written as to how the tragedy of so many lives lost, so much property lost, that I won't repeat it here. I have a page here on Southstation.org dedicated to showing selected pages from the book that was published by the Providence Journal company in 1938. That book showed pictures taken throughout New England of the damage and destruction that occured.

For more information on the "Great Hurricane," also known as "The Long Island Express," go to my Hurricane! page for the up to date links.


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Oh what a day, I can't believe I've had so much dumb luck. First Tommy breaks his arm, then I get thrown out of class and the big game with the Hornets is tomorrow night! Oh sorry, maybe you need to be filled in on what I'm talking about. Go here for the whole stinkin' story.

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Good day! It's Saturday and Isabel is gone, so today is a good day to clean the cobwebs of my mind and see what on it.

I feel so bad for the area in Maryland, the Virginias and Ohio that got hit by the flooding rains during and after Isabel's passing. Is there anything we can learn from this? Fortunately, the rainfall totals were less than the 8 to 10 inches forecast but the ground was already saturated. A report on MSNBC from Richmond the day the hurricane made landfall told of the ground water level at only 11 feet and some inches from the top of the ground. This can put old trees in peril, and what we can learn from this is that nature takes its course. A reporter took note that a flagpole was the only thing standing in an area of destruction. Well, a flagpole doesn't present as much surface area as a house to the wind, duh.

Is there such a thing as a hurricane-proof house? It doesn't have to be the brick house the third little pig built, but a house whose frame can sway a bit, and whose roof is secured to the frame (making it, for all intents, a single entity) could ride out a storm better than one without these features. Come to think of it, and I'm not an architect or engineer, these sound a bit like the earthquake-resistant houses. Another point I learned recently, was that the profile away from the wind is very important, which means the roof line on the side away from the wind. The person explaining this showed a pyramid as the ideal shelter from the wind. That complicates the design a bit, as we don't know which direction the wind is coming from. I hope that we will see more information in the future on hurricane-proof houses.

Of course, the caveat to a house that can stand the wind is not to expose it to a storm tide, or locate it in a flood plain. We need to consider new building regulations that will not expose the insurance companies to tremendous losses and our society from losing hundreds or more people in flooding conditions. This could mean the return of barrier islands to their original state, and beachfront homes prevented from being located on the beachfront.

I don't want to sound smug, but I kind of like living in New England, knowing we are not daily exposed to extreme weather conditions, but ever mindful of the threat, not only from severe storms, but from earthquakes! Yes, New England is in a fault line that hasn't seen much activity lately. A small 3 point earthquake a few years ago moved a house off its foundation in Southeastern Massachusetts, and the homeowner did have earthquake insurance! Most New Englanders don't.

So, that's it for Saturday, September 20. I'm Larry Lovering.

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The 8 pm advisory from the National Hurricane Center said that Isabel is on track, heading for the North Carolina coast. The hurricane warnings are up from Cape Fear to Chincoteague Virginia, and the Chesapeake Bay south of Smith Point. All preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion in the hurricane warning area.

Looking at the news tonight, it seems that some "storm jockeys" are preparing to ride out the storm. That had disasterous consequences in every major hurricane that has hit this country. Witness even the apartment building in Florida, where the inhabitants were sure that it would stand the hurricane. Eight people died. Pure stupidity, in my view.

Storm surge flooding will be on the order of 7 to 11 feet above normal, along with extremely large and dangerous battering waves is expected near and to the north of where the center crosses the coast. And, as previously discussed, rain on the order of 6 to 10 inches will be flooding the area in the path of Isabel; many communities are already ground-saturated from rain this week. Look for much flooding over the next couple of days. Common sense means that persons in a flood plain need to move too.

And to top it all off there is a threat of isolated tornadoes over eastern North Carolina tonight. God speed.


My mini site on the Great Hurricane of 1938 is up and full of pictures that will floor you in the depiction of the massive destruction in New England and on Long Island. Check it out.

Good evening, everyone.


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The news this morning seems to indicate that the 36 hour track of Isabel will take it through North Carolina, up through Virginia into Pennsylvania and into New York. The width of the possible track is extended to southern Connecticut on the north and out into Ohio on the west. It puts all of Pennsylvania and New York in the possible track. Since hurricane force winds extend more than 100 miles from the center of the storm, persons on either side of the forcast track must be wary of the possiblity of hurricane or near hurricane force winds.

An interesting article on MSNBC this morning analyzes the financial impact of a strong hurricane. Allstate is the largest insurer in the forecast area, with 12.3% of the policies written. A 1 billion dollar impact on Allstate could "blow away" 13% of the company's profit in the latest quarter. And, more ominous, the president of the risk assement group AIR Worldwide said that, compared to the 19 billion dollar losses with Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and 6 billion dollar losses with Hugo in 1989, a hurricane the size and track of the Great Hurricane of 1938 could cause upwards of 75 billion dollars damage in New York and New England. This is, of course, because these areas have become complacent in their concern about a strong hurricane, and that building in coastal areas have, in many cases, been built over areas that were completely destroyed in the 1938 storm. That storm came at a high tide, which resulted in a very strong storm surge.

A film that chronicled an experiment by the Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s showed what a storm surge could do to the inland bay of Rhode Island with a ten to 15 foot storm surge. The houses built in the cove and inlet areas, especially Warwick Neck, would float away like so many toys. The work that the Corps did in the 50s ended up in the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier, which now protects Providence from storm inundation like that happened in hurricanes in the 50s; one storm producing 13 feet of water in Downtown Providence. But of course, it does nothing for the homes and businesses that are built scant feet above high tide in these coastal areas.

Development in barrier islands are another problem in storm surges, and even cities such as Miami are not immune to the effects. If Hurricane Andrew came ashore 40 miles further north, there is no telling what Miami would have suffered from the wind and tide effects. Storm surges are affected by astronomical high tides, which send the storm surge even higher. Witness the Blizzard of 1978 in New England, which hit in February 1978 with wind speeds of 65 mph gusting to above hurricane strength. There was an astronomical high tide at that time, and waves blown onto the coastal beaches of Massachusetts obliterated many houses along the shore.

With hurricane warnings in place now from Cape Fear to the North Carolina/Virginia border and hurricane watches beyond the watch area in the Tidal Potomac and Chesapeake Bay north of Smith Point, the exodus of many thousands of people begin. Hurricane hunter aircraft will survey the storm's eyewall development today, which has appeared to be unorganized and winds down to 110 mph, but there is a strong expectation of strenghtening when Isabel crosses the Gulf Stream on its way to the coast. More bulletins today, the release of advisories from the National Hurricane Center at 5 pm EDT, 8 pm EDT and 11 pm EDT.

As is customary in these weather situations, if you are in these areas, stay tuned to local media and National Weather Service radio.




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The latest on Hurricane Isabel, courtesy of the National Hurricane Center. With tropical storm watches open now from Little Egg Inlet in New Jersey down to South Santee River in South Carolina. The NHC-TPC has issued a Hurricane Watch from Little River Inlet in South Carolina to Chesapeake Bay South of North Beach and the Tidal Potomac. Hurricane Warnings are likely in some of these areas by 11 pm tonight.

A tropical storm or hurricane watch means that tropical storm or hurricane conditions are likely in the watch area generally within 36 hours.

At 8 pm EDT...0000z...the center of Hurricane Isabel was located near latitude 28.2 north... Longitude 71.5 west or about 545 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras North Carolina.

Isabel is moving toward the north-northwest near 8 mph and this motion is expected to continue for the next 24 hours. Maximum sustained winds are near 105 mph...with higher gusts. Some increase in strength is possible prior to landfall. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 160 miles from the center...and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 275 miles. The minimum central pressure measured by an Air Force hurricane hunter aircraft was 956 mb...28.23 inches.

Large ocean swells and dangerous surf conditions are being experienced along portions of the U.S. Southeast and Mid-Atlantic coasts. These conditions will also continue over portions of the Bahamas for the next few days.

For storm-related information specific to your area...please monitor products issued by your local weather office...and statements from local emergency management officials.

The next advisory will be issued by the National Hurricane Center at 11 pm EDT.

Isabel continues to be a dangerous storm. Stay tuned to your local weather outlets for information in your area. Remember, forecast tracks are more accurate at 24 hours out.

Stay safe,

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A break today, dear reader, about a story that will get you thinking how much we take our lives for granted. Let me take you into China, deep into the land of the Yi. A project funded by the Nature Conservancy is making change, albiet slowly, for the good in China.

The Photovoice project was created to put simple point-and-shoot cameras into the hands of the villagers who live in the Yunnan province. There lives are simple, but hard. Putting control of the images there in the hands of the villages is unlike outsiders who might come in and take pictures. The pictures can be tools of change, here, and show in a most intimate way the way of life high up in China's mountains, where the Yangtze, the Mekong, the Irawaddy and the Salween rivers all cross. Only about 3 million people live in this ares, the size of West Virginia. The Nature Conservancy wants to turn this beautiful part of China into a vast nature preserve, and is using the Photovoice project to document the people living there.

The story, from the Washington Post and hosted by MSNBC is here. Read it carefully and I hope you'll be filled with the same feelings I have about the Yi and how revealing this simple project is becoming.

I'll be back later, with the latest news on Hurricane Isabel.

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Hurricane Isabel dominates the blog this week, the information courtesy of my intense interest in these storms.

Latest reconissance indicates some shear as it get closer to the US, and this will help weaken the storm, but it remains a very dangerous hurricane. Forecast tracks developed last evening show a strong probability of landfall between Morehead, NC and New Jersey. The average solution, which is a track midway between the extremes of the track, show Isabel heading into land across Cape Hatteras through Virginia and up through Pennsylvania, New York and into Ontario later this week.

Isabel has shown some weakening but is still fluctuating in wind speed, and is still a catagory 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale. As it passes through the colder ocean current close to coastal North Carolina, it may weaken more. Still, with possible wind speeds in excess of 140 miles per hour at landfall, sustained and extreme damage can occur.

For more information, up to the minute, go to the National Hurricane Center, MSNBC, CNN, Weather.com or HurricaneCity.

Stay safe,

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The latest, on Hurricane Isabel from the AP.

Hurricane Isabel weakened slightly Sunday but still was a powerful Category 4 storm as it plowed across the Atlantic Ocean on a course that could slam it into the central East Coast late this week. “It’s looking more and more likely that this is going to be a big event for the eastern United States,” National Hurricane Center meteorologist Eric Blake said Sunday.

COMPUTER MODELS predict that weather conditions over the East Coast should prevent Isabel from turning back out to sea and missing land, hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart said.

“Landfall along the U.S Mid-Atlantic coast somewhere between North Carolina and New Jersey between 4 or 5 days (Thursday or Friday) is appearing more and more likely,” Stewart said. “Little or no significant weakening is expected to occur until after landfall occurs.”

At 11 a.m. ET, Isabel’s maximum sustained wind speed had fallen by 5 mph to 155 mph — 1 mph below the minimum for Category 5 — apparently a fluctuation in strength common to major hurricanes, forecasters said. Experts had said it would be extremely unusual for Isabel to maintain Category 5 strength as it moved north over cooler water.

The storm was centered about 370 miles east-northeast of the Turks and Caicos Islands, or about 320 miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Hurricane-force wind of at least 74 mph extended 85 miles out from the center.

It was moving toward the west-northwest at about 12 mph, and was expected to continue on that path into Monday, then turn toward the Carolinas, possibly making landfall Thursday or Friday. Forecasters note that hurricanes can be unpredictable, and long-range forecasts have large possibilities for error.

For the rest of this story, click here for MSNBC. Copyright, 2003 by the Associated Press.


I've put the first iteration of the Hurricane! page up on Southstation.org today. It's full of links to current information on the storms, including up to the minute forecasts and tracks. The page also will link to historical information on past storms.

It's a beautiful Sunday here at this blogger's domain. I'm thinking ahead to the Hits of Yesterday special on Wednesday, September 17 when the sounds of the Top 40 hits in 1962 will be played all day, all night. Some great music came out of America that year, with just a trickle of English hits. Check it out.

À la prochaine,


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Hurricane Isabel dominates the weather news today, I'm Larry Lovering with this report from the AP. Hurricane Isabel weakened slightly as it churned toward the Atlantic coast early on Saturday, slowing its winds to 150 mph and dropping to Category 4 strength. National Hurricane Center forecasters have said that Isabel was moving westward at 9 mph and they expected the hurricane to continue in that direction until at least Sunday morning.

At 4 a.m. EDT, Isabel’s maximum wind speeds held at 150 mph, dropping it to a Category 4 storm. Until late Friday, the hurricane maintained Category 5 strength, the strongest on the Saffir-Simpson scale. A hurricane hits the top of the scale when its winds reach 156 mph.

Isabel moved to within 455 miles northeast of Puerto Rico Saturday morning. Forecasters expect large ocean swells and dangerous surf conditions for several days over portions of the Leeward Islands in the northeastern Caribbean Sea.

What is interesting is that the long-range forecast placed Isabel farther north than previously expected. Now, the senior forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami put it roughly 440 miles east of the Georgia-South Carolina coastal border early Thursday, if it makes a turn to the northwest as predicted.

But that forecast has a possible error of up to 432 miles on the fifth day, and meteorologists said they would know more about the potential direction of the storm late this weekend.

“It is still too early to even speculate which parts, if any, of (the) eastern coast of the United States may get affected by Isabel,” hurricane forecaster Jack Beven said.

Wind speeds probably will fluctuate over the next five days, but warm ocean temperatures and other
conditions have allowed it to intensify consistently, forecasters said.

Don Harrison, a spokesman for Home Depot stores, is reporting higher-than-normal sales for items such as plywood, generators, gas cans and chain saws at their stores in Florida. Sales of hurricane-related supplies at other stores were normal, he said.

As many as four cruise ships have changed their planned courses to avoid getting into the hurricane's path.

To read more about dangerous hurricanes and the people who work to determine more fully the path and direction of these dangerous storms, read "Inside The Hurricane," by Pete Davies. Much of the book details the events and people caught in what was the most dangerous storm of the recent past, that of Catagory 5 Mitch in 1998, where 11,000 people were killed and thousands more missing in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

That's the news for today, for weather in your area, go to weather.com.



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Well, it looks like the first Category 5 hurricane of the season (and indeed, first in the Atlantic since Mitch of 1998) is in the Atlantic, and the Bahamas may be a target. According to MSNBC, Hurricane Isabel reached Category 5 with 160 mile per hour winds, and is moving toward the west-northwest at this time. This is a very dangerous storm, on the order of Andrew in 1992 and Camille in 1969. No danger to the US until after this weekend, but heavy surf advisories may be raised because of the outflow of this storm. The latest National Hurricane Center (NHC) information can be found here.

It's been a few days since the last blog, and as expected, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel will be touring the US this fall. Like their fans' ages, the ticket prices may be steep.

Sad news today, Johnny Cash and John Ritter are dead. The Man in Black was 71, a legend in country music and recently was spotlit on MTV with a new video. John Ritter, who would have been 55 next week, died of a previously unknown heart ailment. He collapsed on the set of his television show, "8 Simple Rules For Dating My Daughter"

Favorite web site this week, www.colorado.com. A great site to explore the state and all it has to offer, and check out the downloadable wallpaper selections. Really reminds me of all the time I've spent there.

That's all for now, check out the rest of Southstation.org sometime!

Au revoir,



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Dear Paul Simon,

I've heard that you are going to make an annoucement tomorrow at the Bottom Line about you and Artie getting together again to tour. Some people are so positive about this that there are rumors that venues have been booked already. Is it true?

We remember about the separation between you and Art in the past, especially how you both recorded "Bridge" in separate studios. Funny title for a project like that. The Central Park concert was something, I was there, and it looked a bit like you were tolerating each other. So, what is it that keeps you apart? We Simon & Garfunkel fans want to know.

The Sixties were born of folk music, with the heritage of the Weavers of the fifties carrying into the sixties with luminairies like the Kingston Trio; Peter, Paul & Mary; Phil Ochs; Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan. Your subtle, intellectual sound defined what folk-rock music was in the mid sixties, and indeed was the soundtrack for much of our (your fans) lives in the sixties.

So, Paul, let us down easily, or be positive about this tour. Your fans will know if something is up. Thank you for your years of solo-ness and the great music you've produced.

Signed,

A Simon and Garfunkel fan


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Hello, everybody. More news, more rants, more stuff, all here today. I'm Larry Lovering, reporting.

Fallout continues on the church and state issue. Crosswalk.com has an article that explores the current state of affairs, it is good background reading. What will Judge Moore do now? I was supposing today that if the Ten Commandments monument in the Alabama Courthouse was the Nine Commandments, leaving out the first and most important one, that the anti-God and Barry Lynn-ites would be satisfied. Yipes at the thought.

Can Weblogs Chase Bush Out of Britain? or 'Bare Your Bum at Bush?' Those crazy Brits are at it again, and yes, they want to arrange a 'flash mob' to bare their arses at President Bush.

We have heard today that the Government is warning us that they have evidence that four men are planning an attack on this country. Though they can name the country of residence for all four (all in the Middle East, of course) they don't know but are pretty certain they are not in this country. Hello?

What's up for Southstation.Org? Well, the Hits of Yesterday, the Radio Workshop's Internet Radio Station is enjoying the success of its Wednesday marathons, each being a restrospective of one year of rock and roll's radio life. This coming Wednesday, its the year 1966.

And, another bit of Notoriety: two of the custom jingles that I use on the Hits of Yesterday are part of the demo reel that PAMS of Dallas, who produced my jingles, are using as a Personal Cuts demonstration on the web.

I am also creating a page on the Great Hurricane of 1938 and how it affected Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut. I will feature mostly pictures and scans from an out-of-print booklet that was published after the storm. Many people have written some great material on the 1938 Hurricane, including Scott Mandia of SUNY Suffolk with an excellent historical site, and Intellicast.com with their comprehensive Dr. Dewpoint series by Joe D'Aleo.

I want to say thank you to all who have been a new part of my life for the two years since Joann died. Through your thoughts and prayers, and that of His presence in my life, I am a stronger person in the Lord. I have been granted many opportunities to minister, and to create small groups to minister to others with special needs.

À bientôt,


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I thought it would be interesting to scan the web logs of southstation.org and see what pages are popular from the search engines. So, if you hit this blog first out of the box from Google or MSN, consider this a menu to get right where you are going.

First, the number of people who want information on South Station in Boston is staggering, and so I must be providing a great service with my little page. Go there now. And, a site in Germany links back to this page from a family page that describes their trip to Boston.

Secondly, there are a number of search hits that stumble upon the satirical "Seeking Men" and " Seeking Women" pages. What some of these people search on isn't really ready for a family audience, but let's say they will probably be disappointed once they visit the pages.

Third, a number of people come to the Model Train pages. Thank you for those that commented on my layout proposal.

Forth, the Hits of Yesterday figure in searches on Internet Radio and Oldies.

And lumped into the rest are searches on me, Ovarian Cancer, some of my friends, this blog, and the Word of Life picture pages.

See you on the internet,
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Who knew? Today's blog from Dr. R. Albert Mohler reminds us, as conservative Christians, how the outrage and hostility toward Christianity in the secular world came about. I am speaking about the strict line between church and state- that which wouldn't have tolerated a Ten Commandments monument in a public courthouse. Dr. Mohler looks at the root of the problem, that the doctrine of strict separation between church and state has now become so embedded in the nation's courts. According to a book by Constititional Scholar Philip Hamburger, Separation of Church And State, published by Harvard University Press, movement in the 1940s by conservative Christians to block the growth and possible alignment of other denominations in and with the government was the beginning of the severe push to widen the gulf of church and state. As Porkypine in the esteemable Pogo comic strip said in 1954, "There is no need to sally forth, for it remains true that those things which make us human are, curiously enough, always close at hand. Resolve, then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving and tiny blasts of tiny trumpets, we shall meet the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us."

Changing direction, as I am so wont to do when my faculties are overloaded, a reminder that my high school graduation year is represented by the Hits of Yesterday tomorrow, September 3rd from midnight EDT (7 pm GMT) for 24 hours. 1973, the year of Roberta Flack, Jim Croce, The Carpenters, Doobie Brothers, Paul Simon and the arena anthem of 1973, Edgar Winter's "Frankenstein." You'll hear the one-hit wonders of the day, such as King Harvest's "Dancing In The Moonlight" and artists whose careers took off from 1973, like Billy Joel, when the "Piano Man" sounded from every transistor radio that summer.

À la prochaine (until next time),

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