100 year Halloween storms

The Perfect No Name Storm: In 1991, we were caught in a coastal hundred year storm, over Halloween, when we lived 30 miles at sea. Most of our seasonal neighbors had left for the winter, so they will never know, truly, what it was like. The gusts of winds made the house shake. The surf pounded the shore and pulled cottages and swing sets into the undertow and out to sea. Streets and houses flooded with the storm surge. Boats were tossed on shore and swamped and sank. We called to check on neighbors, they called to check on us, as we debated if we should evacuate, or not. The local government told us to shelter in place and we listened. Others were told to evacuate and did not. We huddled together, wondering if the roof would hold, and watched the storm rage. There were white caps on the water for as far as we could see. The power of the wind and water was unlike anything I had ever experienced in a Hurricane – everything howled and roared.

We had prepared for the storm, as though it were a hurricane. We filled the tubs with water. We pulled out the flashlights and weather radio. There was nothing we could do but wait and see what would happen. Our terrified dogs packed onto the sofa with us. We hoped for the best, while we prepared for the worst.

When we ventured out the morning after the coast was clear, we felt like the munchkins after the twister in the Wizard of Oz. Tentatively looking around at what was gone. The altered eroded bluffs and littered beaches were hard to comprehend. We checked on our neighbors and helped with the clean up. We shared our supplies and offered help. You can’t force Mother Nature or a hundred year storm into submission. You can only respond to the weather conditions.

2011 Thundersnow: This was a fast moving event that dropped 15” of heavy wet snow on trees that still had leaves and snapped them in two. The storm moved through quickly, in about 24 hours, but power was out for over a week in many parts of the northeast. No event like it had been recorded ever in October. We didn’t imagine we would see another Halloween snowstorm like that in our lifetimes until today.

2020 Pandemic: This Halloween we are in a different kind of 100 year storm. Rather than hitting a relatively small area for a short period of time, this pandemic hit the entire country for months. It is a slow motion storm that is stretching our society’s limits. The prolonged uncertainty and lack of leadership has resulted in a different kind of erosion. There is an disintegration of trust as the administration tries to force the pandemic into submission with the sort of magical thinking that represents the rhetoric of denial.

This is a storm that we are all in together, but we are not all in the same boat. The currents have been shifting wildly and unpredictably.

No matter what kind of storm we face, There are always going to be people who won’t follow guidelines. The family that won’t evacuate their ancestral home and puts first responders at risk. The individuals who won’t wear masks and spread the virus. The ones who think they know better. The difference this time is that our fellow countrymen and women are prolonging the storm. They try to justify and masquerade their lack of action and response, by blaming everyone but themselves, to their own detriment.

As I am watching the snow fall in the northeast, we don’t yet know when or how this storm will end. When neighbors aren’t willing to help others by social distancing and wearing masks, they seem to be trying to somehow coerce a pandemic to go away, rather than responding to the current conditions to minimize deaths.

When this storm is over, and we are able to venture out to assess the damage, we will encounter a different landscape. A new normal – Businesses and restaurants that could not survive. Lost family and community members who died. Empty houses and storefronts. Vacant theaters.

It’s not the outcome we hoped for at the beginning. It is the result of a lack of storm preparation and response, that created a perfect pandemic storm.

Three Hundred Year storms in 30 years is enough. Here’s hoping we don’t see anymore 100 year or perfect storms in our lifetimes.

Stay safe out there

Northeast winds usually mean three days of foul weather gear and this storm did not disappoint. When the storm had passed, we ventured out tentatively, like the munchkins in Oz after the house had fallen on the wicked witch. I put my daughter in her stroller and we went to check on our older neighbors to see what they needed. To share what we had. Everyone was fine, but glad to see a friendly face and thanked us for our kindness. After the storm, we all went to the shore together, to help clear debris from the beaches with our neighbors, so no one would get hurt walking along the shore.

Today, nearly three decades later, we are caught in a global 100 year storm. It’s a different kind of storm that has lingered for months. We are not all in the same boat, this time around. We are huddling with our dogs, making snacks and waiting to see what will happen. We are checking on our neighbors, to share what we have. We are hoping for the best. Many are so traumatized by the pandemic that denial has kicked in for those who can’t handle the depth and seriousness of the situation. As it will, denial has led to avoidance and not hearing the facts, which in turn has resulted in confusion.

Through all this, good people with kind hearts, have patiently and bravely worked on the front lines as health care workers, essential workers, first responders, and delivery drivers. Teachers and administrators, restaurants, food shops and service industries have all had to pivot to a new normal.

Thank you to all these modern day miracle workers.

Northeast winds usually mean three days of foul weather gear and this storm did not disappoint. When the storm had passed, we ventured out tentatively, like the munchkins in Oz after the house had fallen on the wicked witch. I put my daughter in her stroller and we went to check on our older neighbors to see what they needed. To share what we had. Everyone was fine, but glad to see a friendly face and thanked us for our kindness. After the storm, we all went to the shore together, to help clear debris from the beaches with our neighbors, so no one would get hurt walking along the shore.

Today, nearly three decades later, we are caught in a global 100 year storm. It’s a different kind of storm that has lingered for months. We are not all in the same boat, this time around. We are huddling with our dogs, making snacks and waiting to see what will happen. We are checking on our neighbors, to share what we have. We are hoping for the best. Many are so traumatized by the pandemic that denial has kicked in for those who can’t handle the depth and seriousness of the situation. As it will, denial has led to avoidance and not hearing the facts, which in turn has resulted in confusion.

Through all this, good people with kind hearts, have patiently and bravely worked on the front lines as health care workers, essential workers, first responders, and delivery drivers. Teachers and administrators, restaurants, food shops and service industries have all had to pivot to a new normal.

Thank you to all these modern day miracle workers.

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