It was a dark and stormy night

[SeaCat]

And truly it is.

We are currently under a Severe T-Storm Warning as well as a Tornado Warning until sometime tomorrow morning.

The temps aren't that bad though. Right now it's 74 degrees. It's also raining nicely and in the near distance I can both see and hear the Lightning and Thunder.

On the other hand I have loaded a 2 gig memory card into my phone and downloaded several hundred songs onto it. Now my Cell doubles as an I-Pod.

Cat

 

[SensualCealy]

But did you load up the emergency box with food, water, and batteries?
C
lol Like I need to ask!

 

[ms.read]

pretty bad here too. 7 inches of snow in last 2 hrs.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

We had snow yesterday afternoon, followed by sleet, rain, sleet, snow, hail, sleet, rain...

Right now it is raining, the temperature is rising, and all fo the snow plus rain is threatening to flood the world. I'm not enjoying the last 24 hours.

 

[SeaCat]

Oh it was indeed a dark and stormy night last night.

We lost power about 0130, when I was woken up by a blinding light and an incredible blast of sound. I was sitting there in bed with my ears ringing and wondering what in the hell had just happened. My was sitting next to me saying something but I couldn't hear a damned thing. When I reached to the bedside light and turned it on I realised we didn't have power. I felt on the bedside table and finding my flashlight turned it on.

In the light of the flashlight I got dressed. Jeans, boots and a heavy shirt under a slicker. I grabbed my good flashlight and headed outside to check things out.

Two units down from me there was an old couple standing out in the rain in their bedclothes yelling into a cell phone. Their place had been hit by lightning. It took a few minutes but the fire department showed up and checked out the trailer. The small fire that had started with the strike had been rained out through the hole in their roof. (It was pouring out.) When the Fire Department left after telling the old couple they could stay there I grabbed a ladder and a tarp and climbed up on the roof to put a temporary patch on the roof. (I just couldn't see the old guy up there in the rain.)

On my way home I saw flashing lights across the main street and went to investigate. The Fire Department was there. It sees the same engine that had been at the trailer had been called over. The new Pizza Place had been hit as well. I ended up helping out a bit as the engine crew was short. (One officer and a Rookie. The department was running heavy.) The fire in the restaraunt was knocked down with some serious damage. I finally got home at 0300, soaked, tired yet having a good feeling from helping out.

This morning I got up and made breakfast on the grill. Toasted English Muffins, Grilled SPAM, Fried Eggs all washed down with perked Coffee. I then wandered out to check things out in the rain. The trailer was still standing and I couldn't see any more damage. (Although they do need to have their electrical system checked out.) I should be able to fix their roof for them easily enough. The restaraunt looks to be a total loss. Chunks missing from the roof. Many of the windows blown out and a ton of smoke and water damage inside. (The officer told me there were several fires inside, which is not uncommon with a lightning strike.)

We finally got power back at 1500.

Oh and we got 4 1/4 inches of rain in less than 24 hours.

Cat

 

[Ǽltya]

Damn, Cat. Your life reads like a novel. You should just give up that job that doesn't appreciate you (the administration, not the patients) and start on your memoirs.

I wish you were my neighbor.

 

[SeaCat]

Damn, Cat. Your life reads like a novel. You should just give up that job that doesn't appreciate you (the administration, not the patients) and start on your memoirs.

I wish you were my neighbor.

I am everyones neighbor. There is always someone like me around, you just have to watch for them.

As for my life reading like a novel, nope not in the least. I just tend to notice what is going on around me and am willing to comment on it. (Although I could write several novels about my family, but no one would ever believe it.)

Cat

 

[lisa123414]

A dark and stormy night, part deux….

While it was raining in Florida, it was snowing in Philadelphia. I had a business trip, which did not turn out the way it was planned and I ended up in Philly via the train yesterday afternoon. The Philly associate (and dear friend) who was to have been in Wash, D.C. with me was not able to make it and I ended up riding the train in alone. By the time I arrived, the snow on the streets had stopped traffic all over town.

I waited in the queue for a cab, only to have the first driver decline to take me to the New Jersey address to which I was headed. I went back inside the train station to call my friend, to see whether she knew of a cab company to come and get me. She called back to say her usual cab had let her know most of the bridges were closed, the roads were hazardous, they would not come.

It's important to note here, that my friend was a large part of the focus for my trip, her life is in total upheaval right now because her husband has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He has been in the hospital for two months and she is barely hanging on these days. I have been trying to get out to see her, to try and ease her workload, to ease her mind in whatever way I can. This trip was the first chance I had in weeks to get out to Philly, and spending the evening with her was critical. I had planned to stay the night at her house; a downtown hotel was not an option.

I went back to the cab line, which was now twenty persons long, to wait for another cab, certain I would be able to persuade the next one. We waited for a long time; traffic kept the cabs away. In the meantime another train had arrived, swelling the queue to forty or fifty long. A mini-van cab pulled up, away from the queue and a young man got out and went into the train station. Desperate, I managed to catch his eye several times as he went back to his cab, then back inside the station. I figured he was going to pick up a group and wondered if he could be cajoled.

He came back out of the station and went down the line, asking people where they were headed, and if they minded sharing a cab. He did not quite make it all the way down the line to me, but I spoke up anyway, telling him I needed to get to N.J., across the Walt Whitman bridge, although I knew the roads were bad and all the other bridges were closed. He smiled and asked if I was familiar with Philly, as I would have to ride along as he dropped the others off. I smiled back and told him I would love to tour the city, on my way to Woodbury.

Two hours and a wild, slippery ride later, I made it to my friend’s house. We spent a fine evening, making cheese steaks, then walking the half block to her neighborhood bar. It was a beautiful dive and I got quite drunk on the beers and shots purchased by the four or five regulars who knew and loved her and her husband. As we made up the sofa bed, she told me it was the first time she had not been alone in the house in two months.

The cabbie called and let me know he still had my phone. In order to find where we were going I had called my friend, then handed the phone to him, He somehow had forgotten to give it back to me. By then he was back in Philly, hustling up more work. I asked if he would be able to come out the next day and take me to the airport.

Beautiful fellow, I just keep thinking that although I paid him $80 for a $40 fare, it’s lucky for me he did not know just how much I would have been willing to pay, to spend the time yesterday evening and today with my friend.

 

[SeaCat]

While it was raining in Florida, it was snowing in Philadelphia. I had a business trip, which did not turn out the way it was planned and I ended up in Philly via the train yesterday afternoon. The Philly associate (and dear friend) who was to have been in Wash, D.C. with me was not able to make it and I ended up riding the train in alone. By the time I arrived, the snow on the streets had stopped traffic all over town.

I waited in the queue for a cab, only to have the first driver decline to take me to the New Jersey address to which I was headed. I went back inside the train station to call my friend, to see whether she knew of a cab company to come and get me. She called back to say her usual cab had let her know most of the bridges were closed, the roads were hazardous, they would not come.

It's important to note here, that my friend was a large part of the focus for my trip, her life is in total upheaval right now because her husband has been diagnosed with esophageal cancer. He has been in the hospital for two months and she is barely hanging on these days. I have been trying to get out to see her, to try and ease her workload, to ease her mind in whatever way I can. This trip was the first chance I had in weeks to get out to Philly, and spending the evening with her was critical. I had planned to stay the night at her house; a downtown hotel was not an option.

I went back to the cab line, which was now twenty persons long, to wait for another cab, certain I would be able to persuade the next one. We waited for a long time; traffic kept the cabs away. In the meantime another train had arrived, swelling the queue to forty or fifty long. A mini-van cab pulled up, away from the queue and a young man got out and went into the train station. Desperate, I managed to catch his eye several times as he went back to his cab, then back inside the station. I figured he was going to pick up a group and wondered if he could be cajoled.

He came back out of the station and went down the line, asking people where they were headed, and if they minded sharing a cab. He did not quite make it all the way down the line to me, but I spoke up anyway, telling him I needed to get to N.J., across the Walt Whitman bridge, although I knew the roads were bad and all the other bridges were closed. He smiled and asked if I was familiar with Philly, as I would have to ride along as he dropped the others off. I smiled back and told him I would love to tour the city, on my way to Woodbury.

Two hours and a wild, slippery ride later, I made it to my friend’s house. We spent a fine evening, making cheese steaks, then walking the half block to her neighborhood bar. It was a beautiful dive and I got quite drunk on the beers and shots purchased by the four or five regulars who knew and loved her and her husband. As we made up the sofa bed, she told me it was the first time she had not been alone in the house in two months.

The cabbie called and let me know he still had my phone. In order to find where we were going I had called my friend, then handed the phone to him, He somehow had forgotten to give it back to me. By then he was back in Philly, hustling up more work. I asked if he would be able to come out the next day and take me to the airport.

Beautiful fellow, I just keep thinking that although I paid him $80 for a $40 fare, it’s lucky for me he did not know just how much I would have been willing to pay, to spend the time yesterday evening and today with my friend.

Damn Lisa, that took guts on your part. Be careful huh?

Tis did bring back memories of a sort for me though. I had met a young woman in college. we didn't really get along. I was a long haired wild assed guy who wore jeans, flannel shirts and a beat to hell cowboy hat. (This was on Cape Cod.) She was a miss prissy who wore skirts and blouses and hugged her books to her chest. (Hey what do you expect? Her Father was a High School Principal and her Mother a High School English Teacher.)
One day classes were canceled early due to nasty weather. We were in the middle of a Nor'Easter. I had clibed into my car and was headed out when I pulled up at the exit to the school. There she was standing at the Bus Stop.

It was blowing, cold and snowing like a son of a gun. She was wearing her trade mark skirt and blouse under a mid weight jacket. (It had been nice that morning.) I looked around then pulled my car around to the bus stop and offered her a place to sit out of the weather as she waited for the bus. She ignored me for a short time but then accepted. We sat there and waited for an hour with no bus. I had a good idea why.

We pulled into the school again and I found a pay phone. Using this I called the bus company and was informed that all busses had been canceled due to the weather. I went back to the car and informed her of this. Her face almost hit the floor as the tears welled up. The school was now closed and she had no way of getting home. I asked her where she lived and shook my head when she told me, then I shifted the car into gear.

On a good day it would have taken me right around an hour to drive her home. (50 miles) but this day in the quickly worsening weather it took me over two hours. I dropped her at her door and watched to make sure she got inside then drove home. (Another 3 hours.) By the time I got home half the roads on the cape were closed and the others were piled deep in snow. It took more than a week for us to dig out.

Cat

 

[lisa123414]

Cat – I am late getting back as it is taking me forever to get the youngest off to bed, he missed me and I him (there is no greater treasure in this world, than a warm hug.)

It seems to me that I am getting a bit old to enjoy an adventure such as I had last night, quite so much! As the line goes in the movie, “I rely on the kindness of strangers.” (paraphrased yes, but the sentiment is the same.)

To help others, and also to accept the help of others, is a beautiful thing. I cannot count the times I have been helped by someone I barely knew, or did not know at all. These days, we so often are used to being ill-treated by those we don’t know, it is a particularly beautiful thing to give when it is not required.

To all the good Samaritans out there, keep it up, we love you, the world is so much a better place.

 

[MagicaPractica]

I am everyones neighbor. There is always someone like me around, you just have to watch for them.

As for my life reading like a novel, nope not in the least. I just tend to notice what is going on around me and am willing to comment on it. (Although I could write several novels about my family, but no one would ever believe it.)

Cat

Seriously, Ǽltya, I'm beginning to believe he's my brother. Until I see them both in the same room at the same time, I'm not sure I'll believe they are two different people.

 

[lisa123414]

Regardless, of whose brother Cat may be, and for the record, I also have a younger brother, whom I adore...

Anyway, I called my adorable young cabbie, with the soul patch and the torn jeans, and wished him a happy Valentines day.
'
I am hoping, I helped make his day. (yesterday)

Or worried the poor guy...

 

[voluptuary_manque]

I am everyones neighbor. There is always someone like me around, you just have to watch for them.

As for my life reading like a novel, nope not in the least. I just tend to notice what is going on around me and am willing to comment on it. (Although I could write several novels about my family, but no one would ever believe it.)

Cat

I've got a family like that! But most of them tell stories about me.