The view from Benjamin Cove today...

Well, its5:20pm, we still have power, it is just about low tide and the wind is not too bad at this end of the Benjamin. I have been on ARC call all day but have not had to go in. The storm has taken down trees, minor flooding and road washes etc. several areas around us with power outages but nothing major. Ty and I went driving at High tide..the Sedgwick Brooklin bridge was even with the tide..I am sure it will be under tonite. Center Harbor docks were dipping into the water and the walkway to Don's old office was being lapped by the water. Apparently my boss Ginny had to open a shelter in Rockland because of a road closures, and evacuations. Hopefully all will remain quiet in Hancock county so I can go off to Canadian soil tommorow.

Unfortunately the calm of the storm was ruined as I did start flipping thru the channels to check on the Boston Marathon around lunch time and hit CNN..breaking news at Virginia Tech..a campus shooter. What started as one dead, turned into twenty, and by later in the afternoon had become 32, with several in hospital operating rooms etc. I was sick..at first I thought it was the school next to Jessica Buckinghams school but that is VMI. Not V.T. I did call Nancy though to find out where they were( they were heading to VA at some point this week) and where Jess was. They had not heard the news yet and Jess was on a trip with the track team..Her school Washington and Lee is about an hour from V.T. I finnally got Caroline on the phone she had heard bits and pieces thru the day and had no idea of the death toll. She knew there would be something on campus within a short time about it though. I told her I loved her and thats all I could say...I can not imagine being a parent now of a student on that campus. So many are unidentified, even those in surgery. It is incomprehensible to deal with, when I look at it from this perspective, you can only say a prayer for those who lost their child today. I just know I am shaken to my core.

These events seem to happen at this time of year too. Its only 4 days off from Columbine and there are several other March/April school shootings. Why?

I know the coming days will answer some questions about this tragedy..but for any parent and those of us who send our kids off to college in Virginia, Or DC, or elsewhere..it will never be enough to know ...

So thats the view from Benjamin Cove today, Patriots Day, April 16, the Noreaster.. and the overwhelming grief of a college parent for others suffering so much more today. Gretchen