The following was written on November 1st, 2012.
This is one story that begins not with a whimper, but a storm. A ‘Frankenstorm’ as they called it. Appropriate for Halloween, but a pretty fair description, too, of the clusterfuck of a weather pattern that blew through New York on October 29th, destroying houses, taking lives and effectively cancelling Halloween. Though families were advised against Trick or Treating, a few still did, perhaps trying to bring a sense of normalcy back into their lives after a manic 48 hours.
We were staying in Long Island as the storm hit. Not so much by choice as by circumstance. We were inland, away from the threat of floods – it was clear early on that heavy rains wouldn’t be an issue where we were, and it wasn’t – but the wind literally blew the records out of the park hitting up to 95mph (153kph), knocking down power lines in the first instance, massive trees not long after. In the aftermath we saw cars that had caught fire, plenty of exploded power lines and houses and cars that were damaged or destroyed by the debris. When you walk out and see this, it’s amazing more people weren’t hurt or killed, and more houses weren’t destroyed. So many trees slid quietly between houses (you couldn’t hear it behind the sound of the wind), or dropped into the road. A mess, indeed, but it could have been a lot worse.
I never saw the flooding, I never saw that side of devastation. For that I’m grateful. My girlfriend and I were lucky enough to be staying with a Long Island family whose answer to the situation was to throw a blackout party, a party which still continues as I write this and may do so for some time; estimates suggest 90% of Long Island will be without power for at least 7 days following the end of the storm on October 30th. With predictions that this sort of storm is going to become a regular occurrence on the North Eastern coastline of America, it might be time for the State to invest in underground power cables.
It’s November 1st now and I’m sitting at the airport in what I hope to be my one and only attempt at boarding a flight to India. My original flight, due to depart on the 30th and arrive on the 1st, was expectantly cancelled in the wake of the storm, and unfortunately Etihad have been less than able to cope at the demand from stranded passengers. Arriving at the airport today at 730am to see my girlfriend off, I’m now at the front of a long line of Etihad customers desperate to get on their flight out of New York. We shall see how we go… For now I wait and reflect on what was one of the most bizarre few days of my life. But I am definitely one of the lucky ones, and with that I should leave this train of thought…
The first day of my Indian adventure will be starting at least two days late. If I do make this flight, I will make the second day of the NH7 Weekender, and if I don’t, I’ll miss it entirely. It’s been something I’ve been looking forward to for months, so here’s hoping the former serves true.
Indeed Larry makes his flight… stay tuned for part two of the Indian Diaries!
READ THE OTHER NINE PARTS OF THIS SERIES HERE.
