Come on Irene

OK, the title is cheesy, I admit it, but so perfect. A hurricane is headed towards New Jersey and I am mixed with excitment and fear. I love hurricanes! It's so cool to have all the wind, rain, gray. During Hurrican Gloria in 1985 I sat on my front porch through most of the storm with a rain poncho on. I watched leaves and branches go zipping by while no cars drove past my house. No one went out.

The next rough storm was in 1999 and it was really just a lot of rain. I stayed in for that one since I had a fiance and step kids and couldn't be outside watching the trees snap. Now it's 2011 and I'm 36--one two kids in college and a nine year old. I will spend the day before the storm securing my outside patio, preparing drainage so there's no flooding and hope that the power doesn't go out. Times have changed.

The storm has left me with some random thoughts, some funny, some politically based and I felt like sharing so here we go . . .

We prepared by getting the essentials today:

Bread - check
Food - check
Milk - check
Batteries - we already had them
Water - check
Flashlights - again we had them, I am charging the batteries
Generator - slightly out of my budget
Gas - the cars are both filled up
Beer - check
Vodka - check
Netflix - loaded

Did we need beer and vodka? No, but what better way than to spend three days through a storm mildly drunk. Though my purchase of alcohol provided me an interesting glimpse on society. Bottle King, the local liquor store, was busier tonight than prior to July 4th, Christmas, Labor Day, Memorial Day. Busier than any time you would expect the store to be busy. I take it most of my neighbors will be like me and buzz their way through the storm and possibly see cows flying by like the ones Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton saw in Twister.

Now to some serious points. You knew I had to go here--Governor Chris Christie. During the blizzard over Christmas he took his family to Disney and claimed that he did nothing wrong. Said he left the State in good hands and knew everything would be fine. But now there's a hurricane and he isn't making the same mistake twice. He's had three press conferences, he cut short his vacation at the beach with his four kids (I think that alone begs for an ending) and he's been telling people in Asbury Park to get off the beach because they already have good enough tans. That statement bothered me.

Asbury Park, once a retreat for New Yorkers and the shining star of the Jersey Shore, then the birthplace of rock n roll (according to Bruce Springsteen's long speech during live versions of 10th Avenue Freezeout) then a crumbling wasteland that looked like Beruit, to a thriving community known as a safe place for the gay and lesbian community. Why of all Jersey Shore locations did Christie choose Asbury Park to make a comment poking fun at the vanity of people? We all know the cast of the Jersey Shore hang in Seaside Heights and roast themselves like a rotisserie chicken. Why not tell people to get out of Jenkinson's Pier in Seaside? No, he had to point out Asbury Park and claim the people there are vain and want their tans more than they want their lives. Homophobic right wing asshole!

Next when he decided it was time to evacuate the shore with his family he said he was going to lead by example and would get out. I was half expecting him to jump on a plane next and really head out. He'd lead by exmaple to all his millionnaire pals by spending money and running like a little wimp. Good bullies are tough when they want to be, but when things really get rough they go running. It's the ones who stand up to the bully that prove their strength. He'll probably ride out the storm in some armored bunker with a multi day backup generator. His chefs will probably be there, he'll have 500 channels and nothing on, and he'll keep on living the high life.

Me, I'll be watching the water in my back yard making sure it does not get higher than the bottom of my sliding glass doors thus flooding my living room. I'll probably be doing this by candlelight because my power will be out. If I'm really lucky the large tree nearby will blow over and land on the roof. I can feel good though because my governor will be leading by example.