Hurricane Who?

Sunday morning, 4:50 AM.  I hear the shakety-shake.  Ricky had jumped out of his bed and was doing his morning dog-thing.  The moment I had half-dreaded, half-anticipated had arrived:  My beagle was going out in the pitch black to pee in Hurricane Irene!

I was well-prepared for the “event” — had spent a good part of Saturday afternoon battening down the hatches.  Now I was ready for the display.  I expected some wimpiness on Ricky’s part:  This is a dog, after all, who gets spooked by your garden-variety summer electrical storm.  But he waded out into his run without raising an eyebrow, happily grazing on fallen branches as if they were the hors d’oeuvres at a fancy Longshore wedding.  Sure, there were strong winds and driving, horizontal rain, but I was up for something a little more spectacular.  C’mon, Irene — that’s all you got?

Disclaimer time:  Before you jump down my throat, let me say that I’m completely aware of the devastation to life and to property that was wrought by Irene all up and down the east coast, and I don’t mean to make light of the suffering it caused.  Of course.  It’s just that I — and I’m sure, a lot of other people — had a morbid, voyeuristic fascination and curiosity about the cataclysmic event every news outlet promised we were going to witness.  I mean, look at me (above, right), with my trusty hound, ready to brave Irene in my Merrill clogs, my cotton robe, my L.L. Bean slicker, my specs, my  heavy-duty flashlight . . . my bicycle helmet, for God’s sake.  I was expecting fireworks, and frankly, was a little underwhelmed.

This morning we finally got our power back.  I spent a few hours un-battening.  The three days since Sunday have been about as gorgeous as you could ever hope for.  Things, pretty much, are back to normal.  And Ricky’s happy, too, because those delectable twigs and branches are still being served all over the neighborhood.

STARTING NEXT WEEK: LA/XC — my long-awaited cross-country drive with Ricky, begins on Thursday, September 8.  I’ll be posting, with greatly increased frequency, from all across the US of A, so stay tuned . . .