hey sandy

The lyrics to the theme song of that bizarre but hilarious '90s TV series "The Adventures of Pete and Pete" are suddenly, given the current atmospheric conditions, incredibly appropriate:

Hey smilin' strange
You're lookin' happily deranged
Could you settle to shoot me?
Or have you picked your target yet?

Hey Sandy
Don't you talk back,
Hey Sandy

-- "Hey Sandy" by Polaris

 "Happily deranged" indeed. The so-called "Frankenstorm," also known as Hurricane Sandy, that we're currently bracing for will be a collision of several major weather events: a tropical storm coming from the Atlantic, a massive cold front blowing in from the west, and a full moon which means the tides will already be at their highest. And though it's looking more like the picked target will be the Jersey Shore, New York City is still expected to receive quite a blow, with high coastal surges, flooding, and strong winds that will down power lines, potentially leaving millions without electricity for up to a week or more. It's projected to be a rare and historic hybrid storm, something we've been encouraged to take very seriously.

We've been doing our part to prepare. Yesterday, in an effort to avoid having to go out in the storm and to prepare for possible power outages, I did laundry and went grocery shopping. Both were insanely crowded, as if the two fronts of a typical busy Saturday and hurricane preparation collided as destructively as the actual storm is predicted to. But now we're stocked up on essentials and are getting ready to hunker down.

Garrett has been paying attention to the weather reports as I've watched them, and the news of Sandy has left him a nervous wreck. Yesterday at the store, in addition to my regular groceries, I made sure to stock up on some fun "storm food." Things like Angry Birds-shaped cheese crackers, granola bars, and macaroni and cheese shaped like Phineas and Ferb were purchased with the hope of helping to calm him down and try see the bright side of a scary situation. We haven't cracked any of them open yet, but already they seem to be working.

Also helping him is taking action. On Friday, before we headed to playgroup, he worked furiously writing letters onto pieces of notebook paper, which he then tore out and took with him as we left for the park. En route he told me his plans: "These papers is for my friends so they know about the hurricane." As soon as we reached our destination, he opened up his "paper delivery" service as he handed them out both to kids he knew as well as those he didn't to make sure that everyone was aware of this dire situation and were preparing for it. Talk about a spirit of civic duty! After they'd all been passed out and explained (since just about everyone was very confused as to why this little blond boy was handing them a homemade flier), he told me, "I being a good helper to my friends."

The latest from the Mayor's office is that all public transportation will be shutting down beginning this evening for an undetermined amount of time. Public schools have officially been closed tomorrow, and will likely remained closed on Tuesday. Also, a mandatory evacuation as been ordered for residents living in the low-lying areas threatened by storm surges and coastal flooding.

Our experience last year weathering Hurricane Irene has helped me to feel a little more prepared for Sandy. We're taking precautions and have a good supply of essentials that will hopefully see us through just fine. We also live on higher ground, which is a relief. The storm is expected to make landfall along the Jersey Shore late tomorrow, so we'll be feeling the brunt of it on Monday and into Tuesday. By Wednesday it will have mostly cleared out, but by then I imagine we'll be dealing more with the aftermath and clean up than with trick-or-treating. I'll keep you posted on how we fare as potential power outages allow. In the meantime we're going to do our best to not let "Frankenstorm" completely ruin our Halloween fun.