In the past
several days, America ‘celebrated’ the 25th 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 24th, 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 2nd Battalion, 116th
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 Human Immunodeficiency
Virus (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.
Pt. 2
Did I say
our National Guard unit was immediately mobilized and sent out to rescue the
southernmost citizens, (save for the Florida Keys) of our illustrious state?
(Yep. I thought I did). And did I mention we arrived the day after Hurricane
Andrew marched itself through that heavily populated part of the world? (Well,
we did).
And my
friends, I can tell you that was the sorriest mess I had ever had the
misfortune (there’s that word again) of laying my eyes upon. It has been
estimated that 25,000 homes were destroyed in that area, and another 100,000
damaged. Given what I witnessed with my own eyes, I believe the numbers must
have been much greater than this. One of the most ferocious storms of all time,
its almost 200 mph winds racked up over $25 billion in damages, and deprived
the world of approximately 40 precious men, women, boys and girls in the
Bahamas, south Florida, and Louisiana.
And talk
about deja vue, my wife, granddaughter and I decided to ‘take in’ a movie, a
week ago, on a day which just happened to represent the 25th
anniversary my fellow troops and I “circled the wagons,” and set up our tents
on the grounds of the Metro Zoo. Did I mention the name of the movie? “War for
the Planet of the Apes.” Irony of ironies, did I mention those poor, infected
simians with which we contended in south Florida? (Yep. I thought I did).
And the
plot just gets thicker and thicker.
For it
seems on the War for the Planet of the Apes a virulent virus has infected the
monkey population, (sound familiar), but unlike the research monkeys of the
Metro Zoo, these particular monkeys, apes and baboons have benefited from
having contracted the viral contagion. For as the virus maintains its course,
the hairy bipeds experience an unexpected increase in their intelligence
quotient, develop a refined ability to communicate, and a few of the leader
variety generate the power of human speech.
Pt. 3
As the
plot of the movie falls together, not only has the monkey population contracted
the virus, but humankind, as well. However, whereas mankind has always been
God’s premier creation among His creations, with this virus the tables are
turned. And somewhat like the outcome of Alzheimer’s Disease, those among our
species who contract the malady gradually lose their cognitive faculties, and
forget how to accomplish simple tasks, and they are deprived of their ability
to communicate. Talk about a ‘flip flop.’ Suddenly, the monkeys of this world
vie for mankind’s place as the supreme creation on the earth.
And as
the result of the rapidly changing metamorphosis among simians and humans, and
the impact on one high ranking soldier’s child, in particular, well, allow me
to explain.
It seems
‘the Colonel,’ (Woody Harrelson) has been forced to murder his own son, who was
in the process of losing his sensibilities; in order to spare other family
members the effects of the pandemic. (And it would almost seem a biblical
concept is characterized here, as one reflects on Christ’ sacrificial gift of
Himself for the people of planet earth). At any rate, with the death of his
son, the Colonel, and the brigade to which he is charged, declare unilateral
war on the monkey population.
And
somewhat reminiscent of my unit’s singular orders to ‘take out’ the monkeys of
the Metro Zoo, the Colonel’s own small element of the military begins to hunt
down and slaughter the comparatively defenseless ape population.
Well, as
you might well imagine, the hairy critters refuse to take this kind of assault
on their civilization ‘lying down,’ and construct spears, and bows and arrows
to defend their little portion of the jungle. (Thank heavens the monkeys of
Homestead were not nearly as innovative as their fictional brothers in their
effort to fight off the onslaught of the enemy)!
Pt. 4
Ultimately,
the resulting warfare between a faction of our military, and the Einstein’s of
our planet’s simian culture result in multiplied death and destruction on both
sides of the battle line, and a multitude of monkeys are taken captive by the
Colonel’s men, kept in pens, forced to work, and provided very little
sustenance.
Thankfully,
Caesar, the head honcho of the monkey clan, and a few of his vagabonds, manage
to infiltrate the brigade headquarters, and set their captive brothers free. In
the meantime, we learn that the Colonel has taken the life of the chief ape’s
son; in retribution for the death of his own. And not unlike my unit’s orders
at the Metro Zoo, Caesar, the Monkey is afforded the opportunity to gun down the
suddenly defenseless Colonel. And yet, having been provided the occasion, he
relents and refuses to follow through with it. (Fittingly enough, however, the
demented Colonel turns the gun on himself, and puts an end to his misery).
As things
fall together, a great battle ensues, and the majority of the captive monkeys
escape, whereas, the renegade Army brigade is massacred by its own; as
helicopter gunships move in to bring an end to the death and destruction the
rebels have inflicted on the simian population.
Sadly, as
the movie concludes, Caesar is struck with an arrow, and is mortally injured,
but manages to lead his little monkey band to a lovely land of meadows, and
lakes and mountains where they go on to lead idyllic lives, and discover the
kind of tranquility which has, ‘til now, alluded them.
Speaking
of apes and idyllic places, I have often reflected on the fate of those
ill-treated, disease-ridden research monkeys of the Metro Zoo, and whether they
might have found their way to the safety of the Florida Everglades, and whether
they are, even now, living out comfortable, unconflicted lives; (which is, by
the way, a matter of some conjecture).
By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary" Vol. 65. Copyright pending
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