"MISTER CHRISTIAN!"

The Storm of the Century, Sandy seems to have wiped out lower Manhattan, but group supporter and all-around good guy Phil Passen is safe, having apparently been evacuated from his building next to Battery Park AND the Hotel he fled to in New Jersey.  I hope to get word from him on the aftermath of the storm.  He has been an ardent supporter of our efforts at the blog and my thoughts and prayers are with him often.

Also wiped out is the Atlantic City Boardwalk and the entire town of Ocean City, New Jersey, my vacation spot for the last 20 years.  Not only is it underwater, but there were scores of fires overnight without the ability to fight them.

Another high profile loss was the HMS Bounty, the ship built for the filming of the classic Mutiny on the Bounty. The Captain of the ship has been lost at sea and a direct descendant of Fletcher Christian, the instigator of the mutiny, was rescued from the sea many hours after the sinking, but failed to be revived.  The first 2 photos are from Shawn Whalen, a prolific masters runner in New England and friend of Martha (White) Collins, a great Friend of the Group and namesake of my daughter.  The last photo is from the Coast Guard.