Observations on Irene 8.29

I always seem to find funny moments in any situation and Irene was no different. Both involve my early morning wanderings as the storm reached its peak. The first I mentioned yesterday when I got the text from Ash calling me an idiot. When I got back to the apartment she scolded me like an errant child as Chloe tried not to laugh but failed terribly. The other was during that same walk near the forbidden zone while I was standing in a doorway trying to keep a cigarette dry. Two of New York's finest strolled by, stopped, and seemed ready to scold me like, well, an errant child. I only had on hiking boots but I was still taller than both. After a moment they walked away never having said a word.

Favorite tweet from the storm, this made me laugh. “@spicenyc: So that's it..my next girlfriend is going to be a hot weather chick..done + done!” I'll tell you what, after the past couple days I could write a post just on those weather girls and maybe I will sometime but not now.

To tie up some loose ends I should say that I heard from my friends to the south and all is well, just a power outage. I don't know anything first hand about the beach house and Stone Harbor but I did find this on their Facebook along with some photos that show little damage to the downtown area.

“Stone Harbor fared very well! We have retained much of the replenished beaches, and little damage around town is evident. We are so fortunate that we can all now return and get back to normal. Many thanks to all who helped keep us safe - our tireless public servants and volunteer fire company - and thanks to all of you who provided photos and information that we could pass on. We love our Stone Harbor - Sidewalk Sale, anyone?”

I have been hearing all over that the government, particularly New York City's, overreacted to Irene. Speaking for myself I don't think they did at all. Better to shut down and have it end the way it did than not shutdown and have a Category 3 storm plow into Coney Island Sunday morning because North Carolina didn't take the hit first. If this was somehow a failure of government I'd much have this Irene failure than the previous Katrina one. As for the complainers, I didn't see any of them out in the streets this morning during my walks.

I think I'll remember Irene more for how I felt than for any lasting damage it did. Not scared or worried at all, maybe a bit depressed about things, but I was wired. Excited at what was happening around me and what I was going to do with it. Saturday night was exhilarating, I can't think of any other word to describe it. I'm just not right in any way.

One last question, anybody need some 'D' size batteries? First come, first served, cash only please.