Armageddon...?

Well, August wound down in a very dramatic fashion. I kinda feel like August had an identity crisis and thought it was March... coming in like a lamb and going out like a lion. Between the earthquake and the hurricane making headlines in NYC within a few days, I was certainly searching the skies for the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse.

Honestly... New Yorkers are SO dramatic. I mean... I'm pretty sure that New Yorkers believe that NYC is the center of the universe. No. Not pretty sure. 100% sure. So much so that a mere few hours after the earthquake happened (which was really just an aftershock of the earthquake that actually was in VA and caused actual damage there), there were already t-shirts for sale which read "I survived the NYC earthquake." Really? REALLY PEOPLE?

Then came Hurricane Irene. The entire situation reminded me SO MUCH of Katrina. The way the media was acting like we were all surely going to die, and the way the public was half concerned, but mostly just excited for the excuse to drink away the weekend. I must admit, I got a bit nervous. When things like this are being shown on television, it's hard not to:



I mean, 1 of 2 things could have happened. What occurs in the above mentioned video (worst case scenario) and what really happened. Honestly, I feel like NY has gotten a lot of flack for over reacting, what with evacuations and shutting down the entire MTA service for 2 whole days... but... having seen first hand the devastation of Katrina (in a city that was a little "laissez faire" about the whole thing)... I'm glad NYC was overly prepared. Because if it HAD been bad... well... lotsa people would have met a soggy end.

However... Irene actually did cause a lot of damage and death and devastation along her path... but just like the media focused on New Orleans after Katrina, NYC seemed to be the main focus of Irene. Maybe that's just because I live here, though. Was it like that in the rest of the country?

And now we come to a day that actually DOES involve NYC, and actually DOES deserve all of the media attention it garnered in the past and will continue to receive. It's September, and although September 11th is my beautiful sister's birthday, the 2 year anniversary of my moving to NYC, and the first day I'm allowed an alcoholic beverage after having given up the juice on August 9th... it's most importantly the 10 year anniversary of the tragic event we all refer to as "Nine Eleven". I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous. Every September 11 since that fateful day has been a little nerve wracking to the general population. But this year... the 10 year mark... I don't know... it's just a little scarier.

Do you think people felt this way in the years following Pearl Harbor on December 7th? I mean... these days I'm willing to bet that at least 1/2 of the US population doesn't even know anything significant happened on December 7th. In 50 years, will the US population feel that way about September 11th? Crazy to imagine.

However, I'd like to leave you on a little more positive note. Here's an article I found after googling "Come on Irene." You know the song "Come on Eileen"? Well, at my bar, the entire weekend of Hurricane Irene, "Come on Eileen" was mistakenly requested as "Come on Irene." It's an interesting little article which may help to explain why I hate talking on the phone so much, and yet enjoy Skype. Just l'arn somethin' new ever' day, y'all!