PLANET OF THE APES. Pt. 1

In the past several days, America ‘celebrated’ the 25^th anniversary of the onslaught of Hurricane Andrew; the most horrendous and costly natural disaster to visit the United States ‘til that time. This Category 5 storm set its sights on Homestead, Florida, and made landfall in the early morning hours of Monday, August 24^th, 1992.

I recall having attended church the Sunday evening before Andrew worked its awful magic on the landscape of south Florida, and requesting prayer for the people of that region. Oddly enough, I have never forgotten a particular phrase I uttered the fateful evening before the storm.

“We need to pray for those poor people. I cannot imagine going through what they’re about to go through.”

Little did I know, I would have the distinct privilege of sharing the experience with them.

For you see, as I drove my trusty brown UPS truck the next day, I was notified that my Army National Guard battalion had been mobilized, and was about to join 35,000 other active and reserve troops in the hurricane ravaged cities of Homestead and Cutler Ridge.

Interestingly enough, (at least to me) my unit, the 2^nd Battalion, 116^th Field Artillery,“set up shop” at the Metro Zoo, (or what was left of it). Some of the hundreds of animals there had been moved to other locations before the storm, while others were left behind. And though I never saw any giraffes or elephants wandering the premises, we were informed that a “Noah’s Ark” load of animals, including boa constrictors and pythons, had escaped during the height of the hurricane.

A research facility populated by monkeys infected with HIV was left to its own devices, and as a result, hundreds were thought to be prowling our military headquarters. Our troops were given “shoot on sight” orders to kill any of the little critters which had the misfortune of crossing our pathway.

(to be continued)

(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary. Vol. 66. By William McDonald, PhD. Copyright pending.
If you wish to copy, save or share, please include the credit line, above