Hurrican Irene

We thought it was mostly hype when we were warned over and over again about Hurricane Irene. And for a lot of people it turned out to be little more than an inconvenience. But for some it has been devastating. I've always thought also that when a hurricane comes inland, away from the shoreline it loses it's bite. This hurricane was different.

Irene gave all the indications that it was going to drop it's intensity to the point of being a tropical storm...and for the most part it was a tropical storm. But it was such a sustained storm and carried so much rain with it that it ended up doing a lot more damage than I expected. So many people are without power/water/homes in multiple states it's really amazing. Even Vermont was hit hard by Irene and I'm sure they weren't really expecting that kind of impact either.

I've been very fortunate in that I have no damage at my house. I only lost power for about a minute. And although I didn't buy water I filled up a massive pot on the stove with water I'm still using up. I wasn't as prepared as I could have been. If I'd lost power for more than a day I'd probably be in a bit of trouble...or at least I'd have to go looking for supplies. Many people have been without power for days and I'm learning a lesson as I watch them struggle to maintain some form of a normal life while they wait for power to be restored. Next time I'll get an adequate amount of water ahead of time and lay in a lot more supplies that don't need to be cooked to be eaten. I might even invest in a generator.

I've filled the lawn bin with tree debris that's blown all over the yard from my neighbors trees and there is still more that needs to be picked up. My own trees (only two now) fared very well considering the massive wind storm that came through the night after the actual storm. That last furious few hours of wind seemed to be the worst part of Irene and that came through well after they said it was all over. All in all I've been lucky.

My place of business has been closed and without power for the last two days. I have officially cancelled our catered lunch planned for one of the big wigs of the company. That was scheduled to happen tomorrow and is just not possible now. The first initial feelings of being glad to have an extra day off work are beginning to wane. I'd like to get back to a more normal routine sometime soon and close the chapter on Irene for good.

I did come upon a very good omen the day after the storm. I took my granddaughter and the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood, initially to see what damage may have been done. We didn't see much damage; just a lot more of the various tree debris such as I have in my own yard. But we did discover a lovely rainbow arching over the library from the school yard. It gives one a feel that better days are ahead, doesn't it?

Didn't make it

Well my favorite funky flower didn't make it through Hurricane Irene.

But it's replacement is fantastic!

Funky Flowers

These are my freaky dahlias. It's been that kind of summer!

About Dad - 2

Today would have been Dad's birthday. It's amazing how a birthday changes when the loved one is no longer with you. They are mile stones now...painful markers of your loss.
Dad's birthdays always were low key...he never wanted the attention really. And it used to be a struggle (at least for me) to try to come up with something that he'd really like. He never really wanted anything in particular and somehow always seemed to be content with what he had. In any case it was never easy to look at his life and possessions and come up with something that he just had to have....because he felt that he already had everything he needed and seemed a little embarrassed or uncomfortable receiving gifts. He would always be warm and gracious about whatever he received....even the ugly tie or 100th pair of socks when we were little. He'd give us a hug and a kiss on the head which made us beam with pleasure from ear to ear. He was genuinely happy just to be remembered I think. It was enough for him just to be loved.

Here's another little memory I have of Dad:

More often than not Dad would work around the house or the yard in the early evening after supper. When I think about it now I realize the poor man had little or no time to himself. But sometimes he did take a little time to relax and that would mean sitting in the swing outside and ever so slowly rocking. I don't think he really liked the rocking action but he'd let it sway just a little bit. When the season was right he'd be in the garden planting; weeding or watering. He really enjoyed growing vegetables in the garden and seemed to take a simple pleasure in watering it on a warm summer night; cigar in hand; enjoying the silence that was hard to come by in a family our size.

I think around the age of 12 I began taking an interest in the garden myself. I'd been with Dad many times while he watered the garden, talking about this and that, asking questions and absorbing the answers while the garden soaked up the water from the brook. I remember discussing with him how the Indian's used to plant their corn with a fish buried under the seed. I asked him if we could do that too and somewhat amused by my idea, he agreed. There was never a shortage of fish in the brook in the spring. Various people that fished it also had a rotten habit of leaving dead suckers all over the ground. I gathered the dead fish and we planted corn together that year...the way the Indian's did. I don't recall the corn being anything to write home about that year, even with the fish. Apparently the soil itself just wasn't really good enough to make that corn happy. But it didn't matter to me. I saw it as a fun experiment and Dad saw it as a crop that doesn't do well in our garden and probably shouldn't be bothered with again.

He did try it again a few years later, without the fish. It still wasn't anything to write home about. He went back to the usual vegetables the next year.

Broad Brook Carnival

David and me at the carnival.

Big Tom (brother in law) and me at the carnival.

Carol and me at the carnival.

The Broad Brook carnival has come and gone for another year. The faces have changed over the years and some of the entertainments are much better than they ever used to be...but really it's all the same in some respects. We never had fireworks when I was a kid.

I have been going to that carnival since I was a small child. When we were little (and there weren't 6 of us yet) Mom would load us into her Bonneville and we were off to the carnival. It was probably only about a mile from our house but with the kids in tow it wasn't possible for her to walk us up to it. And I'm sure we watched the parade every year before the carnival but I have no memories of the parades as a child (I have later memories and pictures too)...even though Dad would have been marching every year.

The parade always 'opened' the carnival for the last night which was always a Saturday night. The carnival would actually be open on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as well but they made a big deal out of Saturday when the crowds were much bigger.

Dad was in the Fire Dept all my life but I really always took it for granted. It didn't strike me as anything cool or different...it just was. When my brother David (the youngest boy; 4 yrs my junior) was about 5 yrs old or possibly younger he started badgering Dad to take him to the fire house with him and Dad eventually gave in and took him. The firemen nicknamed David Smiley. And I bet Dad never knew he was setting a pattern that would form David's life. David has stayed in the fire dept all these many years; first as a junior, later as a regular member and now the Chief. He followed in Dad's footsteps and even surpassed Dad's achievement as well. Dad would have made a great Chief...he was a natural leader and kind as well. But he never took to the limelight and preferred to remain a Captain directing and teaching quietly from behind the scenes. He never looked for any accolades from anyone and always seemed pleased and yet surprised that he was such a huge favorite with all the guys...especially the juniors, who made many mistakes but always looked to Dad to set an example. And he did set an example. I don't think he ever knew it really, but they all looked up to him as a father figure and a role model.

So when I go to the Broad Brook carnival these days and I see new people in the raffle booth, it's a painful reminder that Dad is gone now. Dad and Mom used to run the raffle booth for years. Dad would make jokes and friendly chatter to the people making out the tickets and Mom would draw people in with the microphone. They worked great together. Everyone would stop at their booth or laugh as they wandered by because Mom wouldn't let you walk by without saying something outrageous to the crowd or calling you by name. Everybody knew everybody else in Broad Brook back then.

Occasionally I'd be sent to the food booth to fetch them something to eat and drink and part of my night would be spent at their booth getting reacquainted with friends from high school that I'd only see at the carnival each year.

I'd always find time to blow my money at the dime pitch too. And when David was a junior (or maybe even before that) he and his friends used to have a turtle race booth. These little boys would 'recruit' turtles from the Broad Brook pond just for the carnival and then let them go when it was over. They were adorable...the boys...although the turtles were cute too. And I swear the crowd gathered just to see the little guys running the show more than anything else. I believe they tried it a couple of times with frogs too. Ah those were the days!

And I never knew they'd be such special memories when I was living through them at the time. I never knew David would stick with the Fire Dept. I never knew he'd carry on the Lockwood name and do us proud by becoming the Chief of the Fire Dept. But how could I have known that the little tow-headed boy with the cut off shorts and bare feet, who was always dirty and getting into some kind of trouble, would grow up to be a real adult, stepping into Dad's shoes so easily, taking the mantle of responsibility on his shoulders like he has, and helping to keep the memories of Dad so alive? He is his own version of Dad and doesn't really look like him, but he's enough like him to hurt my heart when I watch him in action and make me so proud to be his sister.