Isle of Palms Magazine, Summer 2016

he didn’t have a house remaining to rent.)

And then a voice of hope was heard:

“… the light house is still standing.”

“… Stella Maris Church looks OK.”

“… some places don’t look too bad.”

My thoughts were strange. Why did this Biblical phrase

flash through my mind: “Many are called, but few are chosen?”

We were on the river nearly an hour and had just

passed Goat Island. It looked as though a water-going

street sweeper had passed by, throwing docks and chairs,

boats and chimneys, toilet bowls and bookcases upon the

shore. For a mile, the land was littered with household fur-

nishings and debris, while in the background an occasional

desolate and gutted dwelling raised its broken body.

The scene and the circumstances became even weirder.

The ill-clothed and bleary-eyed group stood and stared at a

crazy bridge, askew at a 35-degree angle, useful only for a

wild, high-jumping water skier.

“How could wind blow down the Ben Sawyer Bridge

like that?” someone asked.

No answer, except one woman who spoke in a trem-

bling voice, “It’s awesome.”

An angry voice: “You can thank Sullivan’s Island...

Photos by Jim Curd.