for the eye sees not
itself, but by reflection,
by some other things

Adapted from Julius Caesar ACT I – SCENE II where Brutus says:

No, Cassius, for the eye sees not itself
But by reflection, by some other thing.

I snapped this image of the pond at the Audubon Newhall Preserve on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and was struck by the reflection.

The eye sees not by itself.

But by reflection.

But by some other things.

no phone no wifi
a day in the wilderness
back to caveman days

I was working happily at home when around 11 a.m. my wifi went out.

As we get internet service and TV from the same place, I checked the TV and it was out.

No worries, I had a fall back plan when working from home.

The T Mobile unlimited data hotspot.

But my phone showed no bars and displayed the dread SOS that only 911 calls might work.

I checked with our apartment complex office as our service was paid for through our rent but they were out.

I drove to the local library and their service was out but someone with a different phone service was reporting a major outage for the county.

For the first time I knew for sure it was just local.

From the news:

The city of Beaufort said at 11:15 a.m. that its facilities were all without internet services.

Downdetector.com showed outages across South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

Teachers also reported the internet being down in Beaufort County public schools.

By 12:45 p.m., Sparklight reported that “a portion of Hargray customers are experiencing slow internet or internet outages due to fiber damage caused by a third-party.”

At 4:13 PM EDT, the IT department where I work said that local provider, Hargray, had suffered 4 near simultaneous cuts in their main fiber ring in the Savannah/Pooler areas. A fiber ring can remain operational with 1 cut, but 4 at nearly the same time is catastrophic. The cuts were made by 4 different companies, in 4 different locations, also one I have never seen or heard of before. This Fiber ring supports all Hargray customers phone and internet services, hence the extensive service area affected, (Fl, GA, SC, NC, AL). Hargray has located 3 of the 4 cuts. Crews are onsite and hope to have the 3 cuts repaired in 3-5 hours. They believe this will restore the ring.

By that time I had got in the car and drove until I found cell service which was about 20 miles away.

I was stunned that we could lose both WiFi and Cell service on a perfectly sunny clear day.

As my neighbor put it, back to the caveman days.

beneath my palm-trees ..
sat a weeping – no one to
ask me why I wept …

Beneath my palm-trees, by the river side,
I sat a weeping: in the whole world wide
There was no one to ask me why I wept,
And so I kept
Brimming the water-lily cups with tears
Cold as my fears.

Beneath my palm-trees, by the river side,
I sat a weeping: what enamoured bride,
Cheated by shadowy wooer from the clouds,
But hides and shrouds
Beneath dark palm-trees by a river side?

Song of the Indian Maid by John Keats as published in The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900 (Oxford, 1919).

On Labor Day, my wife and I walked through the Widgeon Point Preserve on Lemon Island in Port Royal Sound in the heart of the South Carolina Low Country.

As it says on the park website, A hiking loop travels the perimeter of the adjacent hummock island. The loop is a wide, flat nature trail that travels through pines, palms, and oak trees. Views of the river can be seen from several different vantage points. The various coastal habitats of Widgeon Point Preserve support a rich diversity of wildlife and plants. Visitors have extraordinary opportunities to observe the natural beauty of the Lowcountry.

It had just rained and the muddy path was filled with little mud marsh crabs that gave you the feeling that the path itself was alive.

It was a extraordinary opportunity to observe.

And also an opportunity to learn.

We knew we lived in the low country of South Carolina.

We knew we lived in Beaufort County, South Carolina.

But we didn’t know that Beaufort County is SO LOW that during high tide, up to 50% of Beaufort County is under water.

Pine, palms and live oaks.

A muddy, forest path

And make sure its low tide.