Have you heard there is a storm coming?
After a lifetime of enduring New England storms (perhaps my earliest memory is of Hurricane Gloria) I have observed three group reactions to the obligatory shut-down of cities and states that occurs during impending weather events.
The smallest group are people who are legitimately concerned about the safety of others. These are mostly municipal employees. We should be thanking them. In the case of elected officials, there is usually a subgroup who balance their concern for the common good with a desire to cover their rears. Less admirable, but understandable.
Next you have the people who are grateful for an opportunity to slow down. After a whirlwind weekend that involved spending a fair amount of time at my multiple jobs, I started dreaming two nights ago about a day on which I don’t have to do anything. That day has arrived.
On the other end of the spectrum are the people who are Too Cool for Storms. Right now those people are tweeting “OMG ITS LIKE NOT EVEN RAINING”. They insist on looking a gift horse in the mouth, and few storms are good enough for them. To these folks, I offer the following points:
- Even though we’ll only see 80 mph gusts, not 80 mph sustained winds, we should still be concerned. It only takes one gust to crush your car/blow you over.
- HIGH TIDES ARE FOR REAL, YO. Just because you don’t have to drive along flooded roadways doesn’t mean no one else in the state does. And when people have to get around and they can’t, they flood your roads (see what I did there?) and traffic goes berserk.
- While we’re on the topic of “just because you don’t have to”, just because you’re not a homeowner worried about flooding basements and trees in your roof doesn’t mean that no one else has to worry about these things. The specter of catastrophe makes this a real storm.
In all seriousness (though I think that last section might have been serious, despite the FREQUENT USE OF ALL CAPS), hitting pause on life while we wait to see what Mother Nature does is profound and glorious. Is this what the Sabbath was like back when that was still a thing?
For those of you away from the storm/coastline, here’s an update:
