This one, the first major hurricane of 2019, is intensifying quickly, swelling in size and speed.  One day Dorian is barely a Category One; forty-eight hours on, it’s a circle of frenzy and want, spiraling to Five status as it approaches the Bahamas.

It will set records—it has to, being so strong.  Elbow Cay, the Abacos, Grand Bahama, these islands are not made for such whirlwinds. One could say that their beauty, blue green circles of paradise, makes them vulnerable. 

Florida watches Dorian warily.  Projected paths vary, edge it one way or the other. A wobble east versus west could make all the difference to Miami, Orlando, Jacksonville.  Still, Dorian seems a sure bet to impact the Sunshine State somewhere.  Those who deny it would be fools.

Yet, the Atlantic coastlines (First, Space, Treasure, Gold) were spared last year, unlike the Gulf battered by Michael. Can safety such as this (staying out of a storm’s reach despite all predictions) hold for one more season?

It would be something of a miracle, as it always is:  to escape a terrible thing by abiding with it.