7:30 PM, Thursday night on the boardwalk in Rehoboth, Delaware (which the Times that very day accurately called "an island of tolerance in a sea of outlet stores”) I was giving Dybbuk a demonstration of why driving in Brooklyn was good training for operating a bumper car, when Domestic Partner called to tell me that some drunk in a bar she’d been drinking at told her that the Governor had ordered us out of Lewes by 6:00 AM.
Fearing the morning exodus, we booked, stopping only to buy a sump pump, and sadly leaving behind some delicious cous cous for our landlord to clean up, along with some other items of a less appetizing nature.
It was only in retrospect that Domestic Partner, who was screaming at me for taking out the garbage, realized that a little vacuuming and dish washing might have afforded her some leverage when asking the landlord for a partial refund.
Five hour later, we were safely settled in Zone B, just a half block from an area being evacuated.
Naturally, our return was greeted in the usual friendly New York manner:
Arthur Frommer: Good luck on your travel choices-do you take your chances and stay by the relatively clean beach water, or come home and enjoy the possible overflowing Gowanus pleasures? If you come home, please try to avoid eating the Gowanus Canal whitefish special at Shelskys.
Well, better Gowanus than Coney Island Whitefish.
Having survived an earthquake and an evacuation, I prepared for a weekend listening to New Orleans tunes and watching Treme reruns til the power went out. I was actually sorta lookin forward, in fact.
But, sure nuff, even though we are in the B Zone, I’ve been outvoted and we will be evac-ing for the second time this week–this time, I expect our trip to be somewhat less than five hours, but perhaps somewhat more than the ten minutes it usually takes to get to my in-laws’ in the Slope.
But, only if DP’s friend Ari returns the car, and there’s only a 50/50 chance of that. Last time she had it, the vehicle spent the weekend in Vermont.
In retrospect, I feel duty bound to note that I'm glad we suffered that really poorly managed snow storm last winter. It seems to have been a game changer
Meantime, a little music to enjoy the storm by til the lights go out.
Remember, they may Call It Stormy Monday…but Saturday is just as bad.