Cold, Hard Facts

I heard a voice last night, maybe God's voice, maybe an alien's---I don't know. But it kept saying "Fitzgerald." Since "Fitzgerald" doesn't sound like "Rosebud," I knew it wasn't a message about movies. Then it hit me. I had overlooked an important commemoration in November: the late 1970s sinkage of the freighter ship, made famous in Gordon Lightfoot's song, "The Wreck of the 'Edmund Fitzgerald.'" The giant freighter sunk in an surprisingly hurricane-like nighttime storm on Lake Superior. The little woman and I were living in Cleveland, the "Edmund's" destination, at the time. If I remember correctly, she lost a distant cousin, one of the crew's members, all of whom drowned. It was a sad day. The Great Lakes are shallow, and storms erupt unexpectedly; winter ones there are even more dangerous. Listen, to me, readers. If you're thinking of vacationing or otherwise visiting the North Coast (yes, we have a North Coast: the Great Lakes region) this or any winter, DON'T DO IT! For God's sake, it's utterly dangerous! Stay away---repeat---STAY AWAY from the North Coast! Maybe tonight I'll no longer hear "Fitzgerald."

-Old Gargoyle