Erie Bessie

I spent my childhood and most of my adult days near the shores of Lake Erie. There were two nuclear plants near us, but the most famous was Bessie. It loomed like a cement giant over the lake and strange, luminous clouds danced around the opening at the top. It seemed benign to us as children but our parents seemed to watch it closely. We grew up and moved through the stages of adulthood realizng the need for affordable energy. But when Bessie was shut down because of leaking and the dangerous possibility of a nuclear meltdown, this cement giant became the monster we new our parents had feared. Now it seems easier to just ignore it as we drive by than to face it with the curiousity of a child.