Most people who know me know that I'm a weather freak. I studied it as part of my ill-fated academic coursework in geography. My favorite thing to do was drawing weather maps. Isobars, highs, lows, wind direction. All that stuff.
Which is why I'm simultaneously fascinated and frightened by what will probably happen the next few days. Here in Connecticut, and many hundreds of miles in many directions, we're about to get pummeled with a storm the likes of which have never been seen.
First, some meteorology 101. (By the way, why is it called METEORology? What do meteors have to do with weather?)
But I digress...Here are the facts:
1: Sandy is a borderline category 1 hurricane/tropical storm. Doesn't matter, really.
2: It's moving at a snail's pace. That's not good.
3: Most importantly, there are 2 separate storms inland which act basically as magnets. That means that Sandy, which would normally hook east and out to sea, will instead hook west and hit the northeast.
4: Once the storms meet, it'll intensify big time. This means more rain, snow, higher winds, flooding.
5: It's also hitting during a full moon and its slowness means it'll cover many tidal cycles, including four high tides. Yet more flooding.
6: Its swath, when its over, may extend literally from Maine to western Ontario, and as far south as Tennessee and the Carolinas. That's an area the likes of which have never been seen.
Am I scared? Answer: Damn right I'm scared. Am I prepared? Answer: As best I can. Got my provisions. I want this thing to get here already, and stop dawdling at 10 or so MPH. Get a move on. Get here, blow through, and get the hell out.
I live in a small apartment in the top half of a house. It's maybe 10 miles inland...so the flood surge shouldn't affect me. However, my place is maybe 20 yards from a river, which rises even in moderate rain. I can't imagine it rising high enough to affect my place. Then again, I have a very vivid imagination. But I suspect I'll be OK.
This storm has got me thinking in Biblical terms. I'm not conventionally religious and I don't know if everything that happens is some kind of sign from God. But I've been asking myself if, just maybe, this storm is God's way of saying, "The presidential campaign is the least of your worries. I'm sick and tired of you Americans fighting, name calling, and behaving like children. Yeah, yeah, you're ALL my children. That doesn't mean you have to be infantile about it. So maybe you should consider working together instead of at cross purposes. (God's aside; sorry...I mean "cross" here in a generic sense). And that election next Tuesday? Yeah, get out and vote. If you can. But first, take care of yourself and your neighbor."
Speaking of neighbors, I have this neighbor whose car is festooned with right wing bumper stickers. Most of them I'm fine with. There are a few that are preachy and even hateful. When I chat with her, she comes across to me as angry and very stressed out. At the same time, she seems like a basically decent person. Like she's just had some bad breaks and is in pain. I want to remove her pain but I can't. I suspect after the storm, she'll regale me with every inconvenience she's gone through. As if she's the only one in America who was inconvenienced. When this happens, I'll tell her that I'm also in a tough place. She'll be too self-absorbed to hear me or even care. And she'll continue venting on about her own misery. And I'll try to get away from her as politely as I can. And eventually our lives will all get back to normal. And whoever's in the White House at that point will play the art of politics, peripherally affecting our lives.
Will we learn anything from this? Maybe to get along and be pleasant to each other? I don't think it's impossible but if I was a betting man, I'd say no. In the meantime, I hope everyone potentially affected is safe and takes this thing seriously.
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