(Tues., Oct. 30, 12:30 PM – The post below was written and sent to me just now by David P. Stang, long-time friend and faithful MillersTime reader.)

That malefic millibar drop spooked the cats. Their eyes rolled around without focus. The hair stood up on their backs. They’d suddenly hiss and leap into the air then run crazily. Bounce off walls. Climb under quilts. Curl into fetal shape and quiver.

In cat consciousness the careening millibars portended Armageddon. This was before any local precipitation. Before rising winds. Before the sky darkened. In fact, two days before disaster descended they saw Sandy’s eye.

They must have foreseen life support systems shutting down. Hospitalized geriatrics choking to death. Subways, tunnels and roads flooding. Sewers barfing out millions of drowned rats. Megatons of trees down. Bridges closed. Thousands of automobiles underwater. Public transport shut down. Transformer stations blown up in explosions of blue light. Millions of residences and businesses without electric power. Communication systems destroyed. Even the New York  Stock Exchange became a battle casualty. Governors and mayors dishing out situation reports while Presidential candidates disciplined themselves not to exploit Sandy’s gift. Still fear and panic reigned.

The cats saw it coming. Feline foreknowledge was spot on.

Whistling winds, crashing down cloud bursts wailed like banshees all night long.  Sandy’s eye, however, passed over like the locusts did in Ancient Egypt. Who survived? Who thrived? And how?

The survivors did so with reliable shelter by merely eating, drinking, defecating, sitting, standing, sleeping, bathing and dressing.

The survivors who lived on to thrive did so with education, training, skills, courage, vision, discipline , tenacity and some luck.

But of all the thrivers and survivors who ended up living meaningful, joyous lives? Those receptive to insight. Those with compassionate and loving hearts. Those who prefer giving to taking. Those whose mainstay is gratitude.

Yet in fairness, all these good results require higher millibars. Accordingly, without drooping millibars cats can’t help you as portenders. Their foreknowledge runs only on low millibars. Only then do they roll their eyes, let their hair stand up, make hissing noises, run crazily, bounce off walls, climb under quilts and go totally fetal.