I am an eighty-three year old woman. I have lived a very basic but at the same time complex life. Like every other person in their eighty’s, I can say with confidence that I have seen many things in my life. I have seen my children grow up. I have seen my children produce their own children. I have seen my children’s children, have kids themselves. I have seen wars start and end. I watched my husband build our summer house at the beach by himself, with my help of course very long ago. I was even there as my husband of over fifty years passed away. Living at the beach for most of my life, I have seen storms and hurricanes that most people will never encounter. Some were a pleasure to witness while some at the time left me in fear for my life. As the stubborn lady I am, I never abandoned our house in time of stormy weather. This place remains the liveliest memory of my husband that I have left. And I would never leave it, even by force.
At this point in time, I am still walking and talking like I am twenty years of age. Well, maybe at a little slower pace. My daughter often comes and visits, and stays with me for long periods of time. And during winter months, I stay with her back in Western Massachusetts. Our thing is to sit on the porch and watch the lightning storms. There were two roads in the cove that shaped in V. One side of houses bordered the ocean while the other row was against the beach and marsh. It was amazing that we were only a thirty-second walk to the beach.
As October approached, we usually started the process of boarding up the house and preparing the move back to western Mass. The pipes get emptied and the windows all get locked and boarded up, the whole nine yards. My daughter Dona had been working a good job at the time and decided to wait till the first snow fell until we actually made the move. We did leave the house for the most part winter-ready, except the water was still running. I didn’t argue to leave, because I would stay year around if I could manage alone. But what the hell. Who says you can’t be at the cape when it isn’t summer anyways? I happen to think it looks marvelous under some snow.
I was never big on television, and raised my children to survive without. So naturally, this place did not have normal channels. There were maybe four or five that never really caught my interest. There was a weather channel, but I thought I could make more accurate forecast then those idiots. “Tomorrow, you can expect light, followed by dark! And for the next day, you can expect the same!” My forecast was always correct. I have learned in all my days that if I watched the weather channel every day for the forecast, they were actually right about once of the week. Maybe two times if on top of their game. So if I did hear the weather, it was in one ear and out the next. The tropical storm advisory was the same way. It caught my eye that something like this would arise now at the end of October though.
To my surprise, I heard it was heading our way. I have seen many thunder storms, but very few hurricanes or tropical storms have actually made it to land, or even as far as the New England coast. So I wasn’t worried the least. I kept doing my morning three mile walk. I got to keep these old bones in shape somehow.
One chilly late October night, we all watched the updates on this storm. I don’t know much about all those technical weather people’s storm terms, but I did understand the meaning of fifteen-foot swells. This was reported on the 27th. I have never seen swells that big with my own eyes, but assumed that was average for a storm out at sea. I didn’t want to hear more about some stupid scare so I didn’t turn on the TV for a few days.
Let me just say, for the first time in my life, I had regretted not turning on the television for a few days. What I saw made me a bit nervous. This tropical storm has grown quite a bit, and they made it sound like it was coming right at our part of New England. There was no name designated for a hurricane so I did not think it could be too bad. But, I clearly was wrong. I stood at the top of the beach one afternoon, and did see swells that must have been over fifteen feet. There is a giant rock, probably ten feet or more above the water where the kids jump off at high tide. Waves were splashing over it very easily today. I was nervous as to what this may lead to.
I was up all night watching off my porch. I had my full yellow old fashion rain suit on. The house spot lights were on and I was on the lookout. The basement was flooded to the point where you could swim in the bedroom. The marsh had overflowed the whole street. Dona was sound asleep, and I don’t know how. Then again thunder storms never bothered her.
Since our house was heavily guarded by other residents’ homes, I could not fully understand this event: I was standing on the upper deck, and loud sounds of water moving approached my ears. I didn’t think twice about a title wave, even though there were 65 knot winds on sea. Just not as strong in my yard because of surrounding houses. But, this storm surge, or wave, whatever you want to call it came out of nowhere. It hit the side of my house, and I thought we were done for. The house was in no shape after all these years for something like this. I held on to the railing for dear life, returning to the house the second I thought I could make it in.
Morning came, and everything was calm. Not sunny, but light and cloudy. We went out to look at the damage. To our surprise, there was none. There was a hole 8-10 feet deep, and wide as a car. Somehow the water did not wreck the house, only the back yard which is a sand bar anyways. I took my canoe out and paddled down the roads. The damage to all the houses was mind blowing. Houses were fully on their sides, or had thousand pound boulders smashed right through them. There is an old WWI watch tower, which is five stories tall. The top of it was filled with ocean water. Waves were breaking over the top of this tower, which rests at sea side. This storm had come so fast, it was not even labeled. So I named it The No Name Hurricane of 1991.
Dona and I created a photo album of this. Pictures of waves splashing and wrecked houses filled this. Even a picture of me sitting in my canoe on the front lawn. This storm was a hell of a sight. Like I said before… every other old person will tell you they have seen some crazy things in their life time. I can safely say I have. I witnessed a wave that should have destroyed our house. Luckily, the house survived. I told you the weather people have no idea what is going on. If they did, this hurricane might have properly been predicted and named. The photo album still remains at the house, for all to see and to remember The No Named Hurricane.