Earth, wind and ......

This past week we had an earthquake that lasted 10 seconds and a hurricane that didn't even last that long. We were prepared, however. The mayor did a great job getting everything buckled down in anticipation of Hurricane Irene's arrival early Sunday morning. Paul and I had our 72 hour kits ready, we had filled our bath-tubs with water in case we lost power and they couldn't pump water to our apartment, and we had two bags of M&M's. We went to bed Saturday night thinking that we would wake-up to trees and cars floating around the flooded city streets. Nothing happened. We had lots of rain and there was some wind, but nothing as strong as they had predicted. Battery Park City, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and places in NJ and CT certainly took the brunt of the hurricane. They had one reporter stationed near where we live and she had the audacity to report that the upper west side was in great shape. This after many of our friends and family had called and sent emails saying that they were praying for our safety and even suggesting that we were very brave to have stayed in the city when we could have fled. Please don't tell them that we hardly noticed the hurricane and actually we didn't even feel the earthquake either. Don't worry, Mother Nature, we still hold you in high regard.

The photos attached show me out on the pier just an hour after the worst of the storm had passed---see if you can tell if the wind is really blowing. The other photos are of the booksellers tables that sit on the street day and night. They were simply wrapped with tarps and rope and seemed untouched by the night's storm. These tables have been of interest to me for a long time. Each night, the booksellers just wrap the tables as shown and then the next day they show up and begin selling their books. From what I can tell no one bothers these tables during the night; this is a mystery to me and it also delights me.