Sitting here on Saturday night watching coverage of Hurricane Irene. Really amazing what a punch something like this can pack.
Wife is a weather junkie. She probabaly would have been a splendid meteorologist. She understands jet streams, dew points and high and low pressure systems. Me? I just try to catch the forecast when I can so I'll know whether or not to carry an umbrella. Most of that other stuff goes over my head.
As I write this, Irene is on her way north from North Carolina. Although North Carolinians took a pretty good hit, early indications are that the damage is not as bad as they thought it might have been. You never know. We'll see what happens as this massive storm heads up the East Coast. I believe I just heard the Weather Channel guy say that the last time a hurricane hit land in New York City was 1821. Wow.
Wouldn't it have been a bummer to be visitng the Big Apple this weekend? You might have had theater tickets, planned to ferry out to Ellis Island or planned to take in a Mets or Yankees game. Not this time, friends. And you might even be stuck there to boot as most flights in and out of the airports are grounded.
In trying to find humor in this situation, I keep track of the buzz words the reporters use. I swear, I don't know what these people would do if they couldn't use the folliwng words and phrases:
1. Impact as a verb. "Virginia Beach has really been impacted by this storm." "It is almost certain that Irene will impact Marlyland." "Tell me Jim, how have the beaches been impacted?"
2. Issues. "This storm will cause big issues for travelers." "Hurricane Irene is causing issues up and down the East Coast." "The water will likely cause flooding issues."
3. On the ground. "We'll go right to __________ who is on the ground in Battery Park in New York City." "There are volunteers on the ground to aid storm victims."
My only commentary is with regard to number three. On the ground? And where else might they be???