As some of you are possibly aware, a hurricane tiptoed past
New York City over the last couple of days.
So many times, the build-up for these events is much more
serious than the actual happening. That was not the case this time around, as the
subways are still down and will be for days yet. Battery Park hit a new
flooding record. The US death toll is close to forty already, and the
search-and-rescue efforts are just getting started. While the ‘hurricane’ was
only a Category One, the effects of the entire freakish storm system will
linger for some time.
But for Joanie and I, the storm was… well, personally, it
didn’t live up to the hype.
On Sunday, we were on a road trip to Rhode Island when we
heard that the mass transit would be closing down at 7 PM that night. Instead
of spending the day enjoying the sights and sounds (and smells – lots of fish,
apparently) of Providence, we went to… WalMart. Where we finished the
stocking-up process begun on Friday by picking up such staples as a tiny
flashlight for my keychain, two (more) gallons of water, and Honey Bunches of
Oats. (They were on sale.)
After Joanie sang in the competition that was our actual
reason for the trek, we dashed back to the car and put the pedal to the
proverbial metal. I am reasonably certain that we did not dip below 80 for any
appreciable stretch of the drive, as I was already loathing the idea of
dropping Joanie off at our apartment, driving to La Guardia to turn in the
rental car, and catching a cab back into Manhattan.
But really, it was fine.
We made great time, the cab-driver was quick and polite, and
Joanie and I went to bed by 8:30 PM on Sunday.
On Monday, we left the apartment for a grand total of four
minutes all day – we spoke to an older neighbor to let her know she could come
visit us if she got bored or lonely – and otherwise…
Well, I will let a recent internet meme speak for our
activity level.
What the news media thinks we did:
What our parents think we did:
What we feel like we did:
What we actually did:
Not only did we never lose power or water, we never lost
internet. It was about as pleasant as a natural disaster could be.
Life continues tomorrow, as there’s work to be done and
places to go. Thanks to everybody who sent us your prayers, warm wishes, and
Facebook jokes during the ordeal, minor though it was for us – we do appreciate
it, and all of you, very much.
