GOODBYE, IRENE – Hurricane Irene, now Tropical Storm Irene, is passing through the New York area, and I can report, from good sources, that the end of the world has not occurred.  Indeed, New York City is still there, and the outlying areas will live to be soaked another day.

As usual, the storm came nowhere near the hype.  Yes, it's been a bad storm, with wind and rain, but I've seen Nor'easters that are almost as bad.  There's been some flooding, some power outages, and people still aren't venturing out on the street here in White Plains, about 22 miles north of Manhattan.  But I don't see a single tree branch on the ground, and the storm passed my now-famous chandelier test.  We have a chandelier over our dining-room table, and it did not sway even an eighth of an inch.  Absolutely rock solid.  What kind of a storm is that?

The TV networks, and all the big local stations, devoted wall-to-wall coverage to this event, and, obviously, newsmen have to prove their worth by standing near a beach and saying, "Just look at that ocean."  So I looked, hour after hour.  And I saw waves.  But it wasn't exactly a tsunami.

Just peeked outside again.  People are starting to walk their dogs.  The rain has stopped.  I expect that some of the food stores will be open later today.  I've run out of Diet Coke, and I'm advised that this does not rise to the level of a 911 call.  So I'll have to go myself. 

So, it was mostly a good TV show.  Yes, there's quite a bit of damage, but it's low-level stuff, and the area will be past this very quickly.  Actually, blizzards are far more serious because streets can be blocked for days and everyone has to shovel out.

Back to politics.

August 28, 2011