Aug 15 2003
Ugh....Can't sleep. Yesterday was totally
Ugh....Can't sleep.
Yesterday was totally off the heazy. Power flickered and then went out at 4:11 PM. Nothing worked, especially my cell phone. Gradually everyone gathered outside their homes to trade what little information they had with the neighbors. I tried to go up to 7th Ave. and get some batteries but by the time I went up there around 5 PM, they were all out. All the bodegas were dark but they were still selling ice and other things, ringing people up by calculator. I came home and turned on the radio in my car and everyone gathered around to find out the dilly. The girlie was stranded on the Upper East Side and we decided she should go to a co-workers place nearby and wait it out there.
When it was obvious everyone wasn't in any real danger and the power wasn't coming on anytime soon, I did what any self-respecting Brooklynite would do in this situation. I grabbed a beer and went outside to sit on the stoop and chill. Luckily I had been grocery shopping 2 days before. I hung out with my landlords and the neighbors and it was actually a lot of fun. About 7:15 PM or so, my friend Glenn rode his bike over. He was out of beer. We drank the rest of my stash and then went out to wander around after it got dark. We went up to a friends place on 6th and Flatbush. Flatbush was insane. All kinds of people trying to get home. Regular Joe’s were out there directing traffic. Busses were PACKED and most of them said NEXT BUS PLEASE where the route usually appears.
We hung out there and then decided that since we were out of beer, we should go to a bar. The only problem, we only had $12 between us. It was comical how none of my friends had any cash on them. We went to O'Connors for some $2.50 Budweiser’s. We drank as much as our meager cash allowance would allow, saw some friends just getting back from the city and then went to Glenn's apartment to chill for a bit.
Once we were at Glenn's place I realized I hadn't eaten anything since 11 AM so I decided to call it a night. I came home around 11:30 PM and cooked some Kraft Mac n' Cheese in the dark. Luckily the gas and water still worked, I just had to light the stove by hand. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. After I got my grub on, I crashed, or at least tried to.
Our power came back on at 4:35 AM, a little over 12 hours after it went out. The girlie and I are supposed to fly to Buffalo at 9:30 AM (45 minutes from now) and that's not happening. The first flight out we can get right now is on Sunday. We had planned to come back on Monday. It sucks, but we'll deal with it.
You know, there are times when I despise my existence living in New York, but at the same time you can really experience some amazing things here. Last night was one of them. It was history. And everyone was totally cool to each other. There were hundreds of people of all race, creed and color hanging out 5th Avenue and everyone was completely chill. In fact, they were nicer than usual. I think 9/11 really straightened everyone out. I'm still amazed at the acts of bravery and compassion I saw that day and yesterday wasn't that different. Neighbors pulled together, people directed traffic, helped the elderly, and pooled batteries, radios, food; whatever they had that other people needed. And we all went out and got drunk after dark.
Yesterday was a good day. I'm glad I was here to enjoy it.
Posted by Kyle in Permalink
