Eve of Frankenstorm

Storm's a brewin'. Well, in New York, storm's a here and storm's a floodin'. What madness. I defy anyone to argue climate change isn't happening. New York is not prone to tropical storms, and the yearly storms and intense weather, be it extreme heat, drought, massive rainfall and lightning, is all getting out of hand.

The Dude and I had his oldest brother over for dinner. The Dude cooked steaks out on the BBQ, which couldn't get hot enough due to the wind and rain. In several hours, the storm will hit Toronto full steam ahead, and while floods aren't the major concern, the wind could reach 100 km per hour. I'm wondering if the power will go out. I live in a hundred-year-old home and there are some seriously old trees around this joint that I'm not entirely sure will sustain the gusts.

Mother Nature is so intense. The only time growing up I remember anything intense was Ice Storm '98. I was in grade 10 and had just turned 15. There were a few days off school, the power went out and we had to go to my Dad's, while my mom went to my Poppie's condo. The power lines were down and coated with ice. The entire neighbourhood was sleet and shining. Mom had driven home from work that night with McDonald's for us, and we were totally unaware that there even was a storm, having spent the evening hanging out in the rec room in the basement. I remember the whole thing being exciting.

This I'm not as jazzed about. No power in a house that retains heat very poorly could mean a chilly time. No hot food or drinks either. Storms are dark and so other than reading by candlelight (Where is a lighter in this place again?) I could wind up bored, bored, bored alone in this house for hours. As much as I enjoy a day off, I'm pretty hopeful the power will remain.

Being a kid during a storm is fun. Being an adult who has to be concerned about the logistics of life, not so much. But I really can't complain. I could live in New York. That's where the real problems are happening. What's a little power outage if at least I'm not being flooded out of my home?