Good Night Irene

Sept. 1, 2011. And so we sing goodbye to Hurricane Irene even though Paterson and Fairfield are inundated with water (Barack is visiting Paterson today, bringing FEMA etc.) and the Catskills are devastated. Carol and I tried to get to our Woodstock house yesterday and we were turned around 3 times. We made it in via the back roads, 212 to Fishcreek to Church Road. No power, but no trees in the living room either. A neighbor's Stone house lost a wall to a tree. The farmer next door had a loud generator going constantly, otherwise he has no water or refrigeration or lights. It may take weeks to get back to normal travel up there. Some towns (Prattsville, NY) were wiped off the map. Down the river.
We opened the windows and tried to let some drier air into the place....then prepared the house for a new roof going on this September, covered the furniture etc. to keep as clean as possible during the roofing job. Several families who used the place recently left nice notes, they all enjoyed it. We'll get back for October, Yom Kippur etc.
Here in Maplewood we still have to boil water. Some are without power but most power has returned. A few trees still not sawed up yet. Traffic is slow everywhere. Tonight we close our "Friends of 1978" art show and we'll return 2 frames back to our own home walls. It's always a joy to participate in a show.
Carol and I both did well with recent checkups. I had a post put in this week for a tooth implant; it's all ok. Looking forward (ugh) to Jury Duty, but also the return of many rehearsals and a few gigs. Enjoy the end of summer....I'm off to the pool for a swim. JIM