Hurricane Henri
The Storm That Failed to Deliver
We were supposed to get slammed by Hurricane Henri. A direct, devastating, once-in-30 years hit, and boy, was that prospect terrifying! My last days on Nantucket were anxious ones, anticipating the conditions we’d be driving into. We left the island for the mainland and joined the backup on 1-95 of people fleeing the coastline and the astronomical high tide. We arrived home hours before the storm was to strike to denuded grocery store shelves. No meat, no bread, none of my brand of almond milk. While Sam foraged for batteries, I managed to find one measly Mrs. Meyer’s candle that smelled so bad that had I been forced to light it, I’d be making the choice between light and throwing up.
The next morning dawned and we waited for the torrential rain, the 70 mile per hour winds. We watched a meteorologist on the Weather Channel in Montauk, trying to stir up excitement about the ripple pattern in a shallow puddle of water near the beach.
Hours passed and it started to rain. I had some work to do, all of it relying on or enhanced by electricity and air conditioning. I scooted Charlie out for a walk before conditions worsened. Sam and I looked out and waited for all hell to break loose. After a while we gave up and made lunch.
By late afternoon, it was clear that Henri had, for us, fizzled. We dodged that particular bullet, and I am sorry for everyone that more severely impacted. I’m not a terrible person. But, that being said, I am a terrible person. There is a part of me that ended the day disappointed. I think it comes down to two things:
I like being a witness to high drama.
I hate being told to expect something only to have it underwhelm, or not happen at all.
I realize these are lousy justifications for feeling Henri and the surrounding hype let me down. I understand that I sound like some weird monster. Our trees still stand, and the roof is squarely on the house. Our basement isn’t flooded.
I feel duped.
As my friend said to me when I complained to her about the build-up and letdown of Henri, be grateful it turned out to be nothing, and even as I agree, I am thinking how hard it is to make my way from suckerdom to gratitude. But I’m trying.