Sunday, August 28, 2011

After the Storm

Just a quick post from upstate, in between college shopping trips and unpacking storage units and carting boxes and plastic bins up stairs and setting up new rooms for one college junior and one college senior:

Well, my mom and my aunt weathered the storm with no leaks and no power outages, though my mom spent the night awake and terrified by banging, crashing sounds and howling winds and the blinds swinging from side to side so that she kept trying to find where the wind was coming in and disturbing them so. I told her it was the entire upper part of the building that was swaying in the wind; my aunt lives on the eighteenth floor.

Many apartments in our complex got flooded, but not my aunt's. We don't yet know the condition of our apartment and won't be any wiser until we return home tomorrow. The repointing of the brick facades that has been going on for the past two years didn't help matters. I also have no idea how my mom's apartment came through, as she hasn't yet been back to it. She's spent most of today dozing in the armchair next to my aunt's hospital bed, catching up on the sleep she didn't get last night.

Imagine: My mother spent the entire year until this month in the Caribbean, and a week after she gets to New York, she is having to contend with a full-fledged hurricane. The world feels upside down. At least Irene deflated to a tropical storm as soon as she came ashore at Coney Island and she speeded up, too, so that the storm had moved past the city by 10 a.m, even though it was supposed to sit over the city until 2 a.m. tonight. My husband says Irene got to New York and gave up the ghost. One headline screeched, "Irene Fails to Wow the City." Seriously? I am just so relieved things went as they did. And if there is no flooding to deal with in my mom's apartment or ours, I will sing hallelujahs.

And to my friends here, thank you for thinking of us as the storm approached, and sending the good thoughts. I think they helped! All those thoughts weaving a safety net over the city. Who was it who said, Thoughts are things?

12 comments:

  1. "Irene Fails to Wow the City." It's easy to be cocky in the face of a deflating storm. The thing is, though, you can never know what these things will do. If she had spun out into the Atlantic for a few hours or a day before swirling back toward the city, there would have been a different ending. We should always respect Mother Nature, 'cause she can be a bitch.

    As for what you might encounter when you get home, it probably won't be as bad as your imagine is capable of painting it. Nevertheless, if there is damage, just take a deep breath and start cleaning and straightening up. Before you know it, it will all be right as rain.

    Oops, bad choice of words. Sorry.

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  2. I have been thinking and worrying about you for days. I KNOW hurricanes. I am so glad that everyone, for the moment you wrote this, is okay.

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  3. Thank goodness everyone is safe. I'm getting a bit sick of people outside of the region poo-pooing the whole thing and saying it was hyped-up. Tell that to all the people who are now flooded, to the 4m without power and to the families of those who died. It wasn't anything minor, and if it was less than we anticipated, then good!

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  4. Oh, it's good to hear you're safe, as are your loved ones. I've been wireless in Yosemite for four days and only now back, worried a bit about you and my other friends in NYC.

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  5. We've been checking and waiting for a post letting us know that you're all okay. :) Much love to you and your family.

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  6. I'm glad everyone is alright and hope that your apartment survived. Was your Mom here to feel the earthquake too?
    We just got our power back 2 hours ago. Ugh! m.

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  7. It really is ironic that your mom spent her life in the Caribbean and came to New York in time for a hurricane! In any case, I'm glad you're all safe and I hope you find no damage to your apartment or those of your relatives.

    I'm sure there will be people who criticize Bloomberg for the evacuations -- but seriously, and I say this as a Floridian, better safe than sorry!

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  8. So very happy to know that everyone is okay, It is pretty odd that your Mama arrived in NYC just in time for a hurricane!

    My daughter left for NYU this morning, she is so excited!
    Thank you as always for your reassuring comments on my post, I was so worried about my Brooklyn Boy!

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  9. So glad you and yours are safe. I agree about about Bloomberg's handling of things.

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  10. I was thinking about you all weekend. I'm so, so, so very glad things weren't worse. I hope everything is confirmed to be fine when you do get home.

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  11. So glad to have your report. Knowing you were there in NYC, where it seemed anything could happen... Good that you and family are safe, hope the same for all you know and care about. Thoughts/things continuing for no flooding. xo

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  12. I'm relieved that everyone is okay and that Irene lost some of her steam before she reached NY!
    Sending love ~

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