As you all know we have had a hurricane blow through southern Connecticut and it went up as far as Vermont, (my birth state) and about 200 hundred miles west. Irene was the name of the storm and she was a twisted sister.
She left some homes here in my town perfectly in tact. She washed some almost out to Long Island Sound and if she didn't accomplish that she left a nice sandy trail of destruction in her path and wake. We know all about wakes here in Old Lyme. People ride around with bumper stickers saying.."no wake"...meaning of course not the mourning type but the little tiny tidal wave that boater leave..."in their wake."
At any rate we here in Old Lyme are a trouble folk. We are resilient and tough sea faring folks by history and time.
However, waves of the tides and a high tide at that and double that with winds up to about sub hurricane levels and what do the people here do in Old Lyme? We fare well. We are used to the storms. The folks here in Old Lyme expect the tides and the high water.
In fact, we are so in tuned with the tides it is a total part of our lives. Everywhere we drive there are signs of the tides; from the marshes, to the rivers, which are tributaries all over our southern most town in Connecticut, to the almighty and strong and powerful Connecticut River. Not to mention our Long Island Sound. We are water people. We live by the tides and we are always attuned to what is happening with the tides. It is a part of our lives.
And I did not realize this until I moved away. We lived way inland for a bit in the Berkshire Mountains. I would drive around inland and look for water.
"Where is the sunset over the water?" , I would think. " What time is high tide?" almost without thinking probably. "I should really be careful of my plants because of the fog and the marine layer." I would think.
Needless to say I only lasted one year to the day away from Old Lyme.
So many good deeds of kindness have come out of Hurricane Irene. Many of us who may not have had contact before have made contact and reached out to our neighbors. I have seen endless examples of folks helping folks in town...and I am proud to be a part of this community
I have to relate a small tale of my own family. My husband, after hearing that my brother and sister in law and their two daughters down in Bedford, NY had no power decided to bring them a generator.
I believe that God rewards those who do good deeds or try very hard to do good deeds. My husband brought the generator down to my brother and his wife. He works in NYC as does she at a hospital. They were frantic with their power down because they both need to be in touch with both the hospital and the firm.
My husband took a generator to my brother's house. It took him about an hour and a half to get there And this was after he commuted home from NYC. He turned around and went back south on a Friday which NO ONE in their usual state of mind would do unless absolutely necessary. The traffic on I95 is usually a nightmare coming north on Friday evenings.
He bought the generator after I told them about their plight in Bedford, NY. (which is a declared state disasters area)..My husband without asking me, went and bought a $900 generator and said he was on his way to my sister in law who was at the absolute end of her rope after trying to contact the hospital from home with no cable connection, no power, no water and no cell for a week. She was at her wits end, as was her family.
Fast forward to the generator getting hooked up by my husband and my brother to my brother's beautiful home in Bedford, NY.
The called me to say the "moment they turned on the generator the power came on from the town.
"hmmmmmm...",I thought to myself..
They were two Knights in Shining Armor.
She left some homes here in my town perfectly in tact. She washed some almost out to Long Island Sound and if she didn't accomplish that she left a nice sandy trail of destruction in her path and wake. We know all about wakes here in Old Lyme. People ride around with bumper stickers saying.."no wake"...meaning of course not the mourning type but the little tiny tidal wave that boater leave..."in their wake."
At any rate we here in Old Lyme are a trouble folk. We are resilient and tough sea faring folks by history and time.
However, waves of the tides and a high tide at that and double that with winds up to about sub hurricane levels and what do the people here do in Old Lyme? We fare well. We are used to the storms. The folks here in Old Lyme expect the tides and the high water.
In fact, we are so in tuned with the tides it is a total part of our lives. Everywhere we drive there are signs of the tides; from the marshes, to the rivers, which are tributaries all over our southern most town in Connecticut, to the almighty and strong and powerful Connecticut River. Not to mention our Long Island Sound. We are water people. We live by the tides and we are always attuned to what is happening with the tides. It is a part of our lives.
And I did not realize this until I moved away. We lived way inland for a bit in the Berkshire Mountains. I would drive around inland and look for water.
"Where is the sunset over the water?" , I would think. " What time is high tide?" almost without thinking probably. "I should really be careful of my plants because of the fog and the marine layer." I would think.
Needless to say I only lasted one year to the day away from Old Lyme.
So many good deeds of kindness have come out of Hurricane Irene. Many of us who may not have had contact before have made contact and reached out to our neighbors. I have seen endless examples of folks helping folks in town...and I am proud to be a part of this community
I have to relate a small tale of my own family. My husband, after hearing that my brother and sister in law and their two daughters down in Bedford, NY had no power decided to bring them a generator.
I believe that God rewards those who do good deeds or try very hard to do good deeds. My husband brought the generator down to my brother and his wife. He works in NYC as does she at a hospital. They were frantic with their power down because they both need to be in touch with both the hospital and the firm.
My husband took a generator to my brother's house. It took him about an hour and a half to get there And this was after he commuted home from NYC. He turned around and went back south on a Friday which NO ONE in their usual state of mind would do unless absolutely necessary. The traffic on I95 is usually a nightmare coming north on Friday evenings.
He bought the generator after I told them about their plight in Bedford, NY. (which is a declared state disasters area)..My husband without asking me, went and bought a $900 generator and said he was on his way to my sister in law who was at the absolute end of her rope after trying to contact the hospital from home with no cable connection, no power, no water and no cell for a week. She was at her wits end, as was her family.
Fast forward to the generator getting hooked up by my husband and my brother to my brother's beautiful home in Bedford, NY.
The called me to say the "moment they turned on the generator the power came on from the town.
"hmmmmmm...",I thought to myself..
They were two Knights in Shining Armor.
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