In Ireland, the number of women and children seeking refuge went up by 15%, to 11,000.
Finally, after three hours, we reached the refuge halfway up the mountain, a silver trailer cemented to the mountain.
My eye sought refuge farther up, where the cupped balconies of the suites alternate with pastel bands to give an appearance of stacked clouds receding skyward in the triangular atrium, more than 50 stories high.
Home, be it ever so humble or grand, has proverbially been a man's castle and a woman's refuge, offering up a haven in a heartless world, an anchor for the restive and the domesticated alike.
The Northwest Territories favors a 300-mile undersea line from Prudhoe Bay that would run north of the Alaskan wildlife refuge, pick up Canadian gas off Inuvik in the Beaufort Sea, travel through the Inuvik area, then south along the Mackenzie River to Alberta.
They do well to stick close: I once watched a family of moorhens freeze as a kestrel appeared above the narrow channel where they had taken refuge, looking up in sheer terror as the predator hovered momentarily overhead, before moving on in search of other prey.
Just before midnight a large noisy trail of people pass our house, they are worried by the rumor that a Tsunami is coming and are seeking refuge higher up in the hills.
It was only in divine refuge, showing up with love regardless of my "stuff," and the support of family and friends, that I was able to remain present and in a mode of service.
