One year ago today

It was on this day last year, February 20, 2010, that Madeira was hit by a storm that left the island in a state of shock.(See the archives for postings from that time.) As I said at the time, life did return to "normal", but this normalcy is not the same as that of February 19, 2010. Time passes; the marks and scars do not.

At least today was sunny and warm. Heavy rains today would have been too strong a reminder of a year ago, especially for those who still have not recovered psychologically from the loss of family members and houses a year ago.

Sometime in the future, Feb. 20, 2010, will become just another in a series of important dates in the 600-year history of Madeira. But while there are persons still living who saw and experienced the storm, it will never be "just another date in history."