All That and More

This has been an experience. In the Village all across lower Manhattab, there is no electric and no cell service.
A time line of sorts. Monday.  The first sign that things might be serious was the flower shop across the street closing at 1:10.  They seldom succumb to any sort of early closing.  While at home, received a robo-phone call from ConEd around 3 pm, as did a couple of my neighbors, that the electricity was going to be powered off, so that it could be safely powered up after the storm when the water receded.  About 8:00 it shut down. Having previously lived in the backwoods, I was ready, candles, bathtub full of water, these amazing lamps that run on batteries and make flashlights look like wannabes, and soup.  The soup was so tasty and such a treat that by evening, I was actually feeling over-souped. The first noticeable change when the lights go out at night, is that the hallways in the apartment, are black; that black you can cut. So I propped open my door to shed light on the stairs. It was also an invitation to stop in. The gathering was very ‘gemutlich. Neighbors came with stories, and glasses, and bottles and shared the evening. The street can be seen from above, out my window, so we kept tracking the police car patrols – if the police saw someone out on the street, they spoke through the car-mic to please go back inside. There were few cars, a smattering of dog walkers and the lone pedestrian.  The bars and restaurants all around were closed as the subway and the busses had ceased operations at 7 pm.  It rained lightly, blew a bit and it felt rather like a holiday gathering. The really good time that everyone imagines their famlly one will resemble. Everyone disbanded about 11:30 going to bed, expecting all to be reasonably well the next day, Tuesday.