The Calm Before the Storm

Happy, safe, and warm… and foolishly skeptical of the much-discussed impending storm, Hurricane Sandy. This is moments before all the cats were stowed for a trip to higher ground. I thought it unnecessary at first but… I was kind of wrong. I needed to use up the sliced mango in the refrigerator so I started a mango chutney. Although I am a rigid measurer, I winged this by ear. My only mistake was putting too much clove. I never was able to enjoy this with the curried chickpeas I planned to make. It would spoil in the powerless refridgerator quickly. I used up the rest of the potatoes and made roasted onion and ‘tato hash. I love using up the last of things. Renewal is a important part of a functioning system. The storm would offer more of this as it flooded the basement. As the storm approached, the press was all over Freeport, Long Island, the small south shore incorporated village where I now reside. We were in an evacuation zone but the 100-year flood map I marked showed us right on the border. Pretty amazing. There is the house, right on the border of flooding. This map offered some comfort during Hurricane Irene as flood waters reached the exact location of the flood map’s boundaries and then retreated. This time, however, the powerful surge took advantage of some kinks in the house’s armor and penetrated. The final meal before high tide came in on Monday evening.