The day after

Got up around 9am and was distinctly unimpressed. The weather was windy with a light sprinkling of rain. After tea we all went down to the river for a walk and despite a few broken trees and the odd band of rain the scene was no worse than a wet weekend in Bognor.

The police kept us away from the river, but we had a look around. A few underground car parks were flooded, but slowly enough to allow the cars to be moved. The local Irish pub had closed, but a cafe was still open so we popped in for eggs Benedict and a cup of tea. It was midday by the time we got back but there was nothing to do.

I will confess to some bitching about this, after all that fuss for nothing. Friends pointed out that the death count was in double figures, large chunks of the state were underwater (not M’s parents thank goodness,) and silence was golden. Good advice, we got lucky and the flooding was extensive. Long Beach Island got away with minor damage it seems.

M and I walked over the bridge to Brooklyn for a wander around. The wind was strong but warm, and long strings of clouds were scudding across the skyline in slow formations. Shops and restaurants were open and largish groups of people were just strolling in that “I’ve got to get outdoors” way.

We wandered back over to Long Island City and went down to the waterfront, chatting to people as we went. Lots of people were about, and most were in a talkative and friendly mood. The above picture came from my phone (that's M in the lower right corner) from Gantry Park.
Maybe I was wrong about New York - it’s a very easy place to love at times like this.

Everybody panic!

A very strange non-day really, we were in hunker-down mode - not that travel was much of an option. The subway was being shut down at midday and power could go as well in lower Manhattan and be off for days.

First things first, get supplies - both internal and external. Brunch at a local place on Long Island City was essential survival food - meaty corned beef hash, with eggs, toast and jam, with a Bloody Mary because who knew when we might taste uncontaminated tomato juice again. As good an excuse as any.

The off to the local health food shop for some supplies. The queue outside the local Trader Joe’s was two blocks long and the situation similar at the competition. While D&D have a week’s worth of food (and a fortnight’s of beer) in the fridge there was comfort food to buy. We decamped to the local health food store and stocked up on crisps, fruit and the occasional chocolaty morsel or five.

Business was brisk, but not insane - no fights over the last soy milk carton or handful of cilantro. M received a little taunting over a couple of tins of sardines, but I got the same for a highly nutritious, if massive, bag of BBQ crisps.

On the TV New Jersey’s governor and Mayor Bloomberg were now up to three press conferences a day. The eye of the storm is expected to pass a few miles east of New York at 8am Sunday, but it’s slow and carrying a lot of water. High tide is also around that time and the storm surge could be large. We’re in zone two of the flooding area, a couple of blocks clear of the mandatory evacuation zone.

Today the final Top 10 also got posted - end of an era for N and I. The Top 10 started as a vague idea and sort of grew out of control. I think we hit 6,000 words on one and the banter during the decision making process for the final list always made me grin. N has surprising reservoirs of knowledge in unlikely areas and argues his case well. It was a bit emotional to see the last one live.

The first bands of rain started to come in around 4pm and lasted for less than half an hour initially, but then increased in frequency. The wind started to really kick in around 7pm but the floor-to-ceiling windows were holding up fine. We had dinner and drinks, then played rummy while the TV was on silent in the background. At this point there was very little else to do. Shops were boarded up, and while a few bars were open, getting there would have required a soaking. The waves of rain were just pounding down at a 40 degree angle, but at least it was warm and didn’t feel too bad.

Much wine and beer was drunk, as M & D tussled for the lead, with myself bringing up the last place spot. Finally we called it a night around 11pm, filled the bath with water in case power went out so we could flush the loo, and retired to bed. The city was quiet, apart from the occasional car and the odd muted police siren telling people to get off the streets. We checked we knew where our documents were and went to sleep