Brother Tom emailed me with your extremely kind concern. It is so thoughtful and compassionate for you to remember me.
Our Holy Mother has put her gentle hand beneath myself and sister and handicapped nephew (and the dog, a tiny chihuahua) throughout this distressing, destructive, geographically centered force of the natural world.
We left home when we knew the large storm was impending and spent 2 nights in a hotel heading towards the western area of our state which is a peaceful, mountainous part of our world.
We spent 2 nights in a hotel (which can deplete finances very quickly) and that is when a friend 9who saw our plight on Facebook) offered us the use of her mountaintop home. We are still here after the storm.
The pictures of our hometown are upsetting. My 23 unit apartment complex (of which I am co-manager) was in the very thick of the distressing scenes which were being displayed on National news.
The very worst was feared for the fate of the property but word began to get back to us that our property---amazingly---had not been touched by flooding or destruction. It was described as an "island" in the flood.
Some of my friends have not fared so well. Their homes were flooded and all possessions were lost.
It was just coincidence that I remembered the name of your city and it rang a bell with some of the articles in the news. It's a good thing the form asks for location.
Great to get your message Rosemary, and to know from Tom and you that you, your sister, nephew and the little Chihahua escaped the worst of the storm through Holy Mother's grace. I can only imagine what a stressful time it must have been. It's wonderful that your apartment building also came though unscathed.
(This is quite different; but I remembered reading that the old Sri Ramakrishna temple in San Francisco, built by Swami Trigunatitanada, was the only building untouched by the 1906 earthquake in it's neighborhood. He had prophetically said that if there was any egoism involved in its development, it would not stand.)
Very sorry to hear about the loss suffered by some of your friends.
It won't be long before your travails are over, you are down from the mountain cabin, and able to resume normal life.