Life on the Blue Planet Coming very soon!


Press Release


Dedication

Photo by Jason Buckeye from Unsplash.

Foreword &Acknowledgments



Copyright© 2025 by Cheryl Batavia


To My Fellow WordPress Bloggers

It’s been a long road for this book. It languished in a notebook during more than a year of illness for both Robert and me. Today, I signed the galley approval document! Within a week or so, I expect to announce that Life on the Blue Planet is live.

I would like to thank my fellow bloggers for all of their support and encouragement over the last few years. It means a lot to me!

Hurricane Milton

Photo of a hurricane by NASA from Unsplash


Hurricane Milton

Monster storm approaching

from the Gulf of Mexico…

Days of rain and wind,

watching hurricane news…

endless models and predictions.

Considering our options,

we decide to shelter in place.

Gusty winds howling

around the corners of our house,

blowing rain against the windows,

dry palm fronds falling.

Darkness descends, storm subsiding.

Power fails;

we go to bed early.

Soothing breezes rustle trees.

Ecstatic the worst is over,

talking, laughing, loving

by the glow of a tiny flashlight.

Lying in bed, holding hands,

enjoying bands of thunderstorms,

last vestiges of the hurricane.

Grateful to be alive,

happy we still have each other.

No TV, no internet, no phones…

Our thoughts turn

to the people northeast of us,

wondering how they fared

in the path of the storm.


Copyright© 2024 by Cheryl Batavia


Epilogue: After the Storm

A week later, our power returned, and we became aware of the devastation in nearby cities and communities. Milton was a major hurricane. Due to storm surge, high winds, and numerous tornadoes spawned by the category 3 storm, people in several states lost their homes, businesses, vehicles, and boats. Roads and other infrastructure are damaged or destroyed. More than a dozen people lost their lives.

Electrical, roofing, and general construction companies, military personnel, and relief workers from many states have come to help those who suffered losses in Hurricane Milton. There are many heroes in our region in 2024!