Well NYC… here it comes. Hurricane Irene is heading our way and the city is on high alert. There is a mandatory evacuation for all residents living in Zone A, sandbags are being lined up along parts of Staten Island, Queens and Wall Street, and stores are being emptied of paper products and emergency supplies. I slipped down to the hardware store across from the office today and, of course, they were completely out of flashlights. So I ducked into the lighting center next door and grabbed two of the six remaining flashlights and a handful of batteries, paid and then squeezed out through the crowd.
Growing up in various parts of the east and west coasts I have been through a hurricane or ten. But this one looks like it might be pretty devastating. Word is, for every ten stories high the wind speed increases another 10 miles per hour. (Need a fact finder to verify that… anyone?)
But, unlike Arthur, the “best that you can do” in this case is hunker down (as long as you are in a clear zone) and wait it out. My apartment should be fairly unscathed (knock on wood). Instead of Christopher Cross, I give you my sheepish parody of Dexys Midnight Runners :
Come on Irene, oh I swear NYC, at this moment, is readying.
As you progress, my thoughts I confess, verge on nervous.
Ah come on Irene!
What I will also do (assuming the power stays on) is catch up on this blog and provide the promised stories about my thrilling, yet unattended, audition for the Mickey Mouse Club as well as my recap of my recent trip home to Tennessee to see family and visit friends in New Orleans. So, while I contemplate those, enjoy this look back at hurricane humor from Dorothy and Sophia. And no, I’m not “a’mockin’” Irene… just laughing through the nerves.
Tommy Karr 