The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.........

Most Michiganders remember that November when we were told that the ship was missing. The Gales of November...........it always brings it back. The haunting song by Gordon Lightfoot brings shivers along my spine. I am not a water person, but I love the Great Lakes. We live near Lake Michigan but often go to the Upper Peninsula. Paradise is one of our favourite places and we always go to Whitefish Point to walk the long beaches there. Its a wild place when the winds blow and Lake Superior is a wild lake. To be honest, when the waves are lashing at the beach and the wind is howling, I love it but it also scares me. When you go to the point the waters meet from both sides into a churning maelstrom and crashing waves. They look angry and as though they will snatch you off the beach. It was in those waters that the Edmond Fitzgerald was broken in half and taken down. The power of those waves, its incredible. People who do not know these waters may not know just how many shipwrecks are in the Great Lakes. We have hundreds of lighthouses around these waters. There is one that we visit often right there at Whitefish Bay. There is a shipwreck museum there and holds some of the artifacts there. There is a bird watching area and several gift shops. I believe that the Coast Guard is an unappreciated service. My sons were US Marines and when you hear the different services bantering about who is the best of the best.......they seem to look at the Coast Guard as a by the way sort of thing (just my impression) but in my book they are one of the best. They are there on the Great Lakes as well as in the seas surrounding our country and their job is as difficult as any. They are awesome in their search and rescue role and are true hero's to me. When something like this happens I would think any mariner is grateful they are there.