The Morning After

Red Cross Shelter at the Indian River High School in Dagsboro, DE

We're fine here in Ms. Conroy's tiny apartment in NJ. The pups are all fine. We lost electricity between 3 - 9 AM but everything is back on now along with the cable television and internet.

Our children all seem to be fine, including our daughter on the UES in NYC (between York and the River), even though there were reported 25 foot surges in the NY harbor during the worst of the hurricane.

The word from our neighbors and friends on Rehoboth Bay is not as hopeful. Long Neck, where we live, was under Severe Tornado Watch from 7 - 9 PM. I haven't heard anything about a tornado in Long Neck but my friends tell me that a tornado hit in Lewes - just the next town over - and leveled two houses and did serious damage to another couple of homes.

A tornado reportedly destroyed one airplane and seriously damaged a few others at Dover Air Force Base.

The Beaches and boardwalks at Rehoboth and Bethany apparently took a big hit. The satellite images look pretty bad. We'll be able to tell better over the next few days just how bad it is.

But, so far, no real word about Long Neck in general or my neighborhood in particular. I must admit that my imagination - often a blessing to my creative mind - has become my worst enemy.

I confess that I find myself suddenly teary-eyed shortly after a knot of anxiety grips my stomach and a wave of nausea causes me to sit down and take some deep breaths.

Makes. Ms. Conroy. Crazy.

She has decided to deal with it by taking a nap.

I submit that both responses are different sides of the same coin which is the currency of anxiety about the unknown.

Compounding the situation is the fact that we're not certain when we'll be able to get to our home to see how much of our home is left.

The Wayne before the Storm

The Garden State Parkway will be reopened at 1 PM today, but we have no idea when the flooding will recede and we'll be able to drive back into our neighborhood. We may have to stay in a hotel for a few more days, but the plan right now is to leave tomorrow for Rehoboth Bay.

The report is that there have been 11 deaths attributed to Hurricane Irene: one death reported in Connecticut, Maryland and Florida, five in North Carolina and three in Virginia, including two children.

That's a remarkably low death toll.

That's hardly a comfort to those 11 families. Let's keep them in our prayers.

I know how they feel.

This could have been much, much worse. I don't yet know if it hasn't been worse than what I currently know it to be. Problem is, I don't know what I don't know. You know?

So, in the morning after the hurricane, I'm trying not to eat the Bread of Anxiety. It's so hard to do. Lack of information tends to be the leven that make it rise.

Thank you for all your prayers and notes of support and love and concern. It really does help.

I'll keep you all posted. That's a promise.

UPDATE:  Got a call from one of our neighbors. Our we cottage is safe and sound. There is still some serious flooding - he recommended not getting out of the car without wearing Wellies - but we can return home. And, and, and . . . . we have a home to which to return. 

No, that's not another earthquake you feel. That would be me, doing a happy-happy-joy-joy dance.

Prayers, please, for the people in the State of Connecticut who are without electricity and the people of the State of Vermont who are enduring terrible flooding.

Even after we say, "Goodnight Irene" the destruction left in the path of this hurricane continues to be a nightmare for many hundreds of thousands of people.