So, I’m writing this Monday morning, and I’m taking this week’s “list of 25” (25 Motivational Thoughts For Writers) and casually boot-nudging it to next Tuesday. Because, I’m going to hastily assume that some 5-10 million of you crazy kids in the Northeast have been shuttered by the gale-force winds and squirrel-drowning rains of STORMVIATHAN.
Hell, for all I know, I’m currently in a house crushed by falling trees, a house without power, a house where I’m forced to sit under a shattered roof with wife, son, old dog, and new puppy and eat like, cold soup out of a can. Mmm. SO GOOD.
Anyway, so here’s just a post to pop in and say — hey, how are you doing in the hurricane? Let us know what’s up in your neck of the woods. Hell, tell us a story. True as you care to make it. A story about storms you’ve seen or witnessed. Let the comment section turn into whatever you need it to turn into it. (Or, if you’re all buried under a brand new lake and exist without electricity, feel free to ignore it completely.)
Good luck to those in the path of Stormviathan.
Be well. Stay safe and sane. Say “hi” if you find the time.
Laura Libricz says:
I’m up early just to see if I can get some news. I’m not in PA right now, but what I just read on FB, the Lehigh Valley didn’t have power. Are they really talking about a week without power?
We had a really bad hurricane in 1972 that did some flooding around the Wilkes-Barre area. I was pretty young, but I remember it was bad.
October 30, 2012 — 1:33 AM
T.L. Bodine says:
Having been lucky enough to live in the desert most of my life, I’ve never had to weather much in the way of, uh, weather. I did, however, work in insurance for several years, which gave me lots of proxy storm experience and cemented in my mind a determination to never live on a coast.
Also, in response to the newest storm, my inner insurance nerd decided it might be helpful to write a claims guide. So, for those who might need it: http://tlbodine.blogspot.com/2012/10/insurance-claim-tips-for-hurricane-sandy.html
Stay safe, guys 🙂
October 30, 2012 — 2:18 AM
Cass says:
I’m in inland Australia, so while we do get storms, we don’t get STORMS! Unless they are firestorms. We had one of those not far from here in 2003. The sky was so black at 3pm in summer that all the streetlights got confused and came on. At least at my place it was only raining cold, burned gum leaves, not embers.
Not much of a story. But I’m thinking of all the affected folks in the US tonight.
October 30, 2012 — 5:47 AM
Todd Moody says:
We lived through the great flood in Grand Forks, ND about14 years ago, and I don’t wish that on anyone. I grew up in WV and from waht I hear they got several feet of snow as a result of the storm. I am waiting for them to wake before calling to check on them.
I hope most heeded the warning to get out on the coast. Praying for those that didn’t.
October 30, 2012 — 7:12 AM
Ben Dodge says:
Best of luck to all those in the path. Ontario has gotten high winds and depressing amounts of rain, but little else.
Something I scribbled while feeling the wind beating at my window.
http://dodgingthebeat.deviantart.com/#/d5jh7nm
October 30, 2012 — 7:42 AM
Kate Haggard says:
We’re getting the outer bands of Sandy here, and have been since Saturday morning. Which tells you how freaking huge this storm is that it reaches all the way to North Carolina. Just a lot of rain and wind, which we’re pretty used to. It’s weird that it’s cold though – it feels like December weather. Kind of want to take down the Halloween lights and put up Xmas ones.
I hope all of my neighbors to the north are doing well and prepped all they can. Really, it’s the waiting and the boredom (especially once the power goes out) that are the hardest part.
October 30, 2012 — 8:22 AM
Justin Williams says:
My thoughts and prayers go to everyone in the path of this storm. I live in Galveston and was here when we had Hurricane Ike, so I definitely know what you’re going through! Stay safe and good luck!
October 30, 2012 — 9:15 AM
Jon says:
New Jersey here. Fortunately for me and mine, we’re largely unaffected; some flickering lights last night but we never lost power and everyone’s okay.
The pictures from the shore area — where we lived not too many years ago — are heartbreaking.
October 30, 2012 — 9:52 AM
Ed Marrow says:
Scranton PA checking in. We got some water in the basement, but are otherwise cool.
October 30, 2012 — 10:29 AM
Sparky says:
I’m in Utah, so not so much for the storm out here right now, but I do have a tale of a storm.
It was years ago, I was working at a local amusement park shilling carnival games (best job ever) when a fog bank seemed to be rolling in. First there was nothing but blue sky, then as time went on a rolling white mass came into view over the horizon. A fierce wind preceded it but we payed no mind. It was a hot summer day so a breeze was more than welcome. And the fog came closer.
Now I was confused over all this really. I mean I live in a desert, it was the middle of summer, and a terrible drought. Where was something like fog even coming from? Had the Salt Lake frozen overnight or something? I didn’t spare it much thought though as I had prizes to sell with and people to relieve of pocket change. And still the bank grew larger and closer, now seeming to rise as high as what few clouds we had in the sky.
And then it hit. The wind intensified, an odd mix of hot and cold currents cutting through me. And moments later I was in pain. I was facing west, watching the cloud come and with little warning my eyes were stung. My glasses afforded some protection but hardly enough. It wasn’t a fog bank. It was a cloud of salt, presumably exposed by the drought and whipped up by the wind off of the salt flats and edges of the shrinking lake. In moments everything facing the wind was a dirty white.
People started seeking shelter across the midway, others scuttling home. Some gamely ignored the storm or just turned their backs to it, the park was still open after all. I struggled through my shift but my games workings were mucked up by the salt. I couldn’t face out onto the midway without my skin getting stung by flying salt and my eyes burning. But come hell or high water we stayed open.
Eventually it passed. We finished the day, closed up shop, counted our prizes and went home. I’ve never seen anything like it before or since. But the clearest memory I have is my old truck when I got out into the parking lot. It’s usual deep red and black were blasted pure white by coated salt. It took forever to wash off. I found a name for such a storm once but I can never remember it.
October 30, 2012 — 12:02 PM
Shiri Sondheimer says:
Annapolis, MD is up and running. Some have power, some don’t (we obviously do). Touch and go there for a while, but in the end, even the internet stayed up and we’re feeling pretty lucky that it wasn’t worse.
Decided was an anything goes sort of a day, so I let my son go to the grocery store in fleece, polar bear pjs, green and orange shoes, and a fireman hat. ‘Cause we believe in that kind of thing in this family. He ran through the store in all of this adorabless and there was much grinning and smiling. Best of people. Most people. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
And I actually want to thank the frat boy who shoulder checked me out of the way while I was carrying my shopping basket in one hand, the carseat in the other, and trailing the pj clad 3 year old by my messenger bag. On another day, I might have tossed a glare or even said something. Today, I took a deep breath and realized that I’m lucky you’re the worst of my problems at the moment.
Perspective, my friends. Perspective.
October 30, 2012 — 12:48 PM
Nicki Hill says:
Lots of wind here in Michigan. I heard a rumor that winds up to 60 mph were forecast for today. Watching the trees outside right now, I could believe that. We’re in southeast Michigan, 20 miles north of Toledo, but up in my hometown near Flint they saw snow this morning. Just last week we were experiencing temps in the mid-70s. Down here, we’ve gotten a smidgen of rain, but mostly it’s just been the crazy wind, and temps on the somewhat colder side of normal for this time of year (though who am I kidding – it’s Michigan. We’ve gotten snow at Halloween before. You learn to get/make costumes on the bigger side so you can stuff a snowsuit underneath.).
October 30, 2012 — 12:58 PM
churnage says:
Southern Pennsyltuckey. Pretty much unscathed. Was expecting to lose power, but looks like we dodged a bullet.
October 30, 2012 — 2:03 PM
M. Chapman says:
Greetings from Soggy Massachussetts!
As of the time of posting (3:30ish) I have just recently regained power! I have been stripped of this life-giving force since about 5:00 yesterday. All I could do was play YAHTZEE in the dark, eat cold pizza with crackers, and scream at the blank Tv. Hell, I even was reduced to hitting my empty dog cage with a wooden spoon at one point!
Thank god for electricity! I do not think my sanity would last had it not come back on. Oh look, I see a raft made of squirrels!
October 30, 2012 — 3:48 PM
Imelda Evans says:
This storm has taught me how many people I know on the East Coast of the USA. In my neck of the woods we suffer more from bush fires than mega storms but we’ve had some nasty flooding in eastern Australia in recent years and my thoughts are with anyone facing that, and the cleanup afterwards. Wish I was closer and could help! Hope it’s not too scary and the damage minimal.
October 30, 2012 — 9:12 PM
Lindsay Mawson says:
Hi. Hope you’re getting along a bit better today…
Near Sarnia, we had the highest winds of Southern Ontario, getting about 65mph gusts, but aside from a lot of missing soffit, ripped apart flowers, lattes ripped away from our deck, we’re doing alright. No power outages, surprisingly enough.
Many people have it much, much worse, so we count ourselves lucky.
Hope everyone else managed to stay safe!
October 31, 2012 — 2:38 PM
Jess Haines says:
Heard from almost all of my friends/family back East. Everyone is okay.
Still pretty freaked out, though. The pictures and videos I saw via Twitter were unbelievable.
-J
October 31, 2012 — 3:27 PM
Laura W. says:
We live in the Shenandoah Valley. Nasty winds and snow for a while there, making driving over the mountain (and in general) pretty dangerous. Very little stuck where we were, but I looked out a window today and you can still see snow on the mountains in the distance. I hear it also melted and then froze on the roads. But hell, all that is mild compared to what went down in New York and Baltimore, near where I have family. Everyone is ok, and yes, they did let the cat in for the storm…
October 31, 2012 — 11:07 PM