A Few Days in My House after the “Hurricane Irene”

  I will always remember the weekend when Hurricane Irene had hit.

Or shall I say “Hurricane Irene”.  Notice I wrote the previous phrase in quotation marks.  You see, the weatherman had announced many scary things about the upcoming “disaster” that would hit Long Island.

I have never believed in those whoever-you-call-thems. I can describe a number of different experiences that led me to my final opinion. From the time when there was to be a big snowstorm, and until now, weathermen seem to have trouble talking accurately about any dangerous weather. Aha! That’s their greatness weakness – when they start talking about hurricanes, tornadoes, or any other severe weather.

My mom has the never-take-a-risk personality or always-be-prepared personality. Saying so, you know that she had played it the safe way. How?  First of all, the radio that was used to play only classical music turned into a news radio. Second of all, my mom filled up the bathtubs and huge water jugs with water. Last of all, she packed the emergency-to-go bag.

But I chose to play it the risky way. “Nah,” I scoffed, “Why would I want to believe these weathermen? They are always wrong! They made the same mistake last year about the “big, upcoming Snowstorm.” These newscasters are paid to make people feel frightened!”

Of course that may sound a little overboard, but that’s how I feel when it comes to severe weather. When a weatherman forecasts any severe weather, I believe that they have a problem with accuracy. Also, I think they need to tone down their exaggeration.

So while my mom was packing clothing for all of us and packing some dry foods, I just went about doing my regular duties as if it was any other any day. Here is some of the news that was repeatedly broadcasted on the radio:

 “It will be the fiercest hurricane we have ever had in the US since the 1900s!”

 “Prepare to evacuate to the following locations listed…”

 “Please do not drive around on the Highways unless necessary! Stay safe!”

Even though I had felt that the “Hurricane” wouldn’t be that bad, I was a little worried about my Sunflower plants outside. I feared that they wouldn’t be strong enough for the wind. Even my dad and mom said that the Sunflowers would probably be strewn all over the street when it was over.

The day passed by quickly and soon it was time to go to bed. When I was finally already for bed, I took a last glance at my garden. Thankfully, the Sunflowers were still in the ground, but the wind was moving them mercilessly back and forth, pulling them in many different directions.

So I headed to bed with the hope that my flowers would last.

When I awoke in the morning, the first thought I had in my mind was MY SUNFLOWERS! I quickly ran out into the living room to glance out from the window. Wait a second, I thought, WHY ARE ALL OF MY SUNFLOWERS LYING ON THE GROUND?!

I rushed to the downstairs window so I could be able to see the scene more clearly. Yes, all my sunflowers were lying on the ground!

I went slowly upstairs and told my mom. Then I went to my room and then tried to turn on the light. Why is the light not working? I thought.

 I asked Rachel, “Do we still have electricity?”

She shook her head. 

And that night, we ate extra early so we could see what we ate. But I had trouble washing the dishes because it was dark.

 It was really fun that night because my family and I stayed in the living room and in the dark, tried to replace the batteries in old flashlights. We successfully did that and then we took turns using the only two flashlights we had working- we had five family members trying to use them at the same time.

The next day, my dad and I fixed the sunflowers. We used rope and tied the Sunflowers in a way that made them stand. I had hoped that they would survive.  I was thankful that out of ten Sunflowers, only one snapped at the roots and died. The nine remaining sunflowers just had the roots forced out of position, forcing the plants to fall.

The second night without electricity was a bit more interesting. We ate later than we were supposed to; so we brought out a lantern that we had and a couple of candlesticks and set them on the dinner table. We were not used to the fact that we couldn’t see what we were eating!

By the time we finished our meal, it was very dark. I had to wash the dishes by my sense of touch, only since I could not see much in the dark. I had a tiny light by my side, so that helped a bit.

After I finished my chore, I was extremely bored. I could not read, or go on the computer. So you know what I did? I played the piano! At my level of piano, I do not need to look at the keys while I am playing so, I was able to play in the dark.

I played the piano so much that week, that when my piano teacher came for the lesson, he wished that there could be a Hurricane every week!

Back to the story. We found out that a friend of ours had just gotten back her electricity half an hour earlier ago and that she had room in her freezer! So my dad and I rushed to her house to drop off our frozen food.

Also, to add to our troubles, our neighbors across the street had their generator on! It was noisy and it sounded like one of those blow up castles you see in the Street Fairs! You can guess that we were also a little jealous of our neighbors who had their TV and lights on when it was totally dark in our home!

Another thing that didn’t help was that the report from the power company estimated that we would get back our electricity back on Friday the earliest!

By the time the next day rolled on, which was Wednesday, Rachel and I were tired with life without electricity. We expectantly, or shall I say, we impatiently waited for the electricity to come on again.

As I was in the kitchen eating my breakfast, I noticed that the refrigerator light was on. Then I turned around and noticed that the kitchen clock was working. I turned around once more, and then I wondered why the hallway light was working.

Then it my mind clicked. I shouted, “THE ELECTRICITY IS WORKING!"

“What?!” my mom and Rachel said.

“LOOK!” I exclaimed, pointing to the hallway light, “THE LIGHT IS ON!”

When the realization hit Rachel, we both, along with Elena started screaming, laughing and jumping up and down. We had a big celebration.

That weekend, I learned three things. First, I discovered that I would probably not be a good Amish if I was one (they don’t use electricity). Second, I was shocked to see how dark it could be in the night without lights! And lastly, I formed a strong opinion: I believe that weathermen sometimes exaggerate too much.

If you ever get a chance to speak to me about this event, you will discover that I never call this event “Hurricane Irene”.  Instead, you will find that I call it “The Tropical Storm.”