Force of nature

The hurricane that hit the Eastern seaboard yesterday has left a trail of damage in its wake, disrupting and sometimes claiming lives. As with others throughout the country and the world, my thoughts are with those who are suffering and who face long clean-up efforts ahead. But I am three thousand miles away, not personally affected by the storm,

I told her I needed an appropriate photo, and several pictures
of her or us with serene water appeared in the screensaver
slideshow on my laptop -- all okay, if the goal was to say that
she's nothing like a hurricane. But then this one came up:
Sandy yanking a dead tree out of the ground. Perfect!

Still, the whole thing has been a little surreal for me. It was Hurricane Sandy, so news reports just refer to the storm as "Sandy," in phrases like "preparing for Sandy," "when Sandy arrives," "damage Sandy left," and even "Sandy's angry."

Sandy was a force of nature, but not so much in the way that a hurricane is. I want nothing more than for her to return to earth, but not in a way that kills people and animals and destroys homes, livelihoods, and ecosystems. And while at first it was kind of a thrill to hear her name on the radio, when the storm was still days away and its effect uncertain, I'm looking forward now to having Sandy discussed in gentler, friendlier contexts again.