Saturday, August 27, 2011

Goodnight, Irene

Irene goodnight, Irene goodnight
Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene
I'll see you in my dreams

Sometimes I live in the country
Sometimes I live in town
Sometimes I have a great notion
To jump into the river and drown

Irene goodnight, Irene goodnight
Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene
I'll see you in my dreams

Quit ramblin' and quit gamblin'
Quit stayin' out late at night
Stay home with your wife and family
Sit down by the fireside bright

Irene goodnight, Irene goodnight
Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene
I'll see you in my dreams

I asked your mother for you
She told me you was too young
I wished to God I'd never seen your face
I's sorry you ever was born


Well, we're all sorry Irene was ever born.  Her trip through Puerto Rico was a disaster, and she didn't do much for Haiti or the Dominican Republic.  Thursday is the day she was supposed to hit Florida right in the chops, but three days ago she started to veer right.  Good for Florida, but bad for everyone else.  Over the water, she blossomed from a Category 1 to a Category 3, and she looks to be heading up the coast towards my hometown.  As if things weren't bad enough, New York and Long Island got hit by the outer fringes of an earthquake.  I still can't wrap my head around an earthquake hitting New York City.  Irene spent far too much time in the Bahamas, that windy bitch, and left an awful mess.

I have lived through many hurricanes in my life, and they all suck.  My first memory of a hurricane is the 1960 version called Donna.  Lots of flooding, but at 7 years old, living in a solid brick house on Kings Highway in Brooklyn, it was all very exciting.  My worst memory of a Long Island hurricane is 1985's Gloria.  No electricity for three days.  That was also the first time I passed out from the air pressure changes.  I can tell when a hurricane is approaching, which is a talent I could live without.

No hurricane could match the trauma of the 2004 trifecta - Charlie, Frances, and Jeanne - that decimated so much of Central Florida.  The morning after Charlie, Rob and I tried to make our way from our home to our office near the courthouse in downtown Kissimmee.  I've never seen destruction like that in my life.  I hope all our friends and family up north stay safe.  Mayor Bloomberg, the wuss, has ordered that all NYC mass transit will stop - imagine no subway service, no bus service, no airplanes being allowed to land - but he may have the right idea. 

Recently I posted a swipe at President Obama regarding his rather inopportune vacation in Martha's Vineyard.  Some folks thought that my trashing the O-Prez indicated my support for Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachman, Rick Perry or even Governor Voldemort.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I have no use for either party, or for any politician currently on the scene.

What would happen if all the pill mills were shut down?  Would legitimate doctors be able to handle the onslaught of raging drug addicts, claiming elusive back pain?  Would the doctors succumb to the ease of writing prescriptions to shut these addicts up, or would they stand firm and tell their patients that oxycontin was not the answer, no matter what the question?

Meet Romeo - the newest addition to the Rothfeld Family Menagerie:

  
Before and After a visit to A Classy Place.

The Never-Ending Move.  Dear God in Heaven, are we ever going to finish moving to the new office?  UPDATE:  We're finally in.  The absurdity of different occupancy rules for state employees, when we are colocated with private employees WHO ARE AGENTS OF THE STATE, held the legal department up for over a week.  Productivity has been shredded like a confidential document. And we are all very tired, physically and mentally.  Moving in the worst weather of the summer - in Florida - it has all been an event I plan on consigning to forgettable short term memory.  We are all glad to be in our new digs, however long it took us to get there. 

  
Rooms with a view.

I am thinking about making tamales. I am also thinking about going back to bed for a nice long nap.  Only time will tell.

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