Give the East Coast a break, Irene. They already have to deal with snow and ice that don’t conveniently melt away in winter, flooding in the spring, and humidity all summer long, not to mention all of the biting flies, bugs, mosquitos, and Lyme Disease. And now EARTHQUAKES! Late summer and early fall is the only reliably pleasant time to live in the east, so give ’em a break, Irene! (Besides: Colorado isn’t big enough to accomodate everyone in the U.S.)
It’s hotter than the hinges of hades here for some reason, but it’s dry and clear, so we’re heading off for our last summer wilderness camping and fishing trip this weekend. In solidarity with my East Coast friends who have had to evacuate, I’ll be sleeping in a tent tonight, not in the comfy cabin pictured on the right. (Interestingly, the lines of that yellow wagon resemble those of Fratguy’s Subaru Outback wagon, the official state car of Colorado.) If you’re on the east coast, I hope you and your households get through the hurricane safe and dry.
In the meantime: am I the only dame d’un certain age who’s had this song running through her head all week long? Come on, Irene! (At least it’s a good late summer song.)
Historiann 
My sister-in-law mentioned this first (on Tuesday) so the song has been in my head all week!
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Never heard the song. You are gently rubbing it in. Reminds me of my 80s in California with the bumper stickers saying: “Welcome to California, now go back.”
Here in the DC area, we seem to have been spared the major hit. We do expect some winds and a lot of rain.
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I’ve never before classified the “back to school” trip under the header “EVACUATION ORDER,” but that’s what it’s come to this year. In about an hour, as the first fringes of tropical wind nose into the Lower Counties, I’m jumping into my red Thing and heading west ‘cross Sasquehanny. I’ve always wanted to get one of those Official State Car of Colorados but haven’t gotten around to it yet. If you leave a pot of that legendary boeuff bourguignon (?) on simmer back at the regular ranch, I’d blow past the Transaltoonia cutoff, finish it up, turn off the stove, wash up, and even be your grader for the fall semester. Otherwise, it’s back to the usual- usual, probably including another bunch of blizzards.
Have a great weekend!
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An Official State Car of Colorado will be my next wheels, but I’m hoping my little Ion lives forever (145k and counting!). And yep, Dexy in my head all week. Have a faboo trip, H’Ann!
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Not only do I remember that song, I had a version of Eileen’s hair ’round about that time. Thanks for the nostalgia hit!
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Dr. Virago: you were soooo lucky! I have tragically straight hair, and suffered through a number of perms in the 1980s to get those adorable curls (and usually failing, alas.)
Stay safe everyone–whether traveling or staying put. I’m glad to hear that Washington, DC didn’t get hit too badly.
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I loled at “State Car of Colorado,” because I was up there earlier this summer, and it’s totally true.
I’m also curious about what you think “hot” means, because we’ve had three straight months of temperatures north of 100 here, and we’re looking at spending the next five days in the 105-111 range. I can’t wait until next weekend, when it’s not supposed to get above a chilly 99 degrees.
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Too funny. We (having evacuated from Norfolk due to Irene) were at a street fair in Roanoke today and the band du jour played “Come on “Irene”.’ I thought I was the only one who got the joke~
Have a great weekend, and a very, very, very good Sunday! Those Colorado mountains are especially nice this time of year.
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Jeezus fucke, do you have to remind this shitte? I AM YOUNG, DAMMIT!!!!!!!!!! ROCK AND ROLL!!! WOO!!!!!!!!! zzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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The east coast is sounding a lot like the west coast these days.
RJB
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I got out of Philly about 2-ish yesterday afternoon and by the 75-mile stone, westbound, was pretty much beyond the influence of the oncoming storm. I only saw one Official State Car of Colorado in about two hundred miles of driving on the Not-Colorado Turnpike, so I guess the term is apt.
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I think the attention paid to the east coast by the media reveals the disdain felt for the south (and the West, right now there is a 3000 acre wildfire). To make such a fuss about a category I hurricane that was quickly approaching Tropical Storm status was just a little too much fainting couch for my taste. But, the east coast is where all the ‘very important people’ (I am too annoyed with their self-importance to give them the double quotation marks) live, and the country would simply fall into chaos if anything happened to them. /sarcasm.
The south (the Gulf States) deals with Category I, II, III, IV and often V hurricanes Every. Single. Year. EVERY SINGLE YEAR! Yet, never do the media go into overdrive and cry “WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN!—I mean, the EASTCOASTERS!!!!!111!!!. ARMAGEDDON! This time for sure, unlike last time, and next time. THIS TIME IT IS ARMAGEDDON!!!!
Some could/would say that this is all a reaction to Katrina (and Ike, unfortunately there are still people to this day unaccounted for) and the east coast, including Obama, are simply trying to prevent the same outcome. I say no. No, it is an exploitation of Katrina, an opportunity to use Katrina as a vehicle to keep the nation’s eyes on the ‘Most Important People of our Country,’ East coasters. MEH!
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I hear you, Dickens Reader. I will say this, though: when a traumatic weather event conforms to the media stereotype of the weather in any given region outside of the east coast, they do run with those stories. Therefore, when Colorado gets a snowstorm, it gets big coverage because easterners don’t know their Vail Pass from the High Plains Desert. When California gets and earthquake, ditto. Rain in Seattle? The same.
We had a lovely night out under the stars. No wildlife sightings besides some very chatty squirrels picking out pine nuts and lobbing the cores of the cones on us, but we did hear some elk bugling this morning.
Here’s hoping you easterners have weathered Irene OK by now.
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Funny, the song in my head was “Good Night Irene”, sung by the Weavers.
And yes, the wildfire (now up to almost 5000 acres, is just up the road from me…it’s pretty scary.
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I have to say too as a life-long East Coaster (mid-Atlantic), it’s pretty common for us to be hit by hurricanes, either on sea or land (the ones that come aground are probably the most destructive in the East, because they often spawn tornadoes). I don’t remember any coverage like the Irene coverage in recent memory. I kept trying to figure out what was So Terrible and Scary about this particular hurricane, especially since it didn’t seem that strong. I’m still not sure if it had something to do with it aiming directly at very high population areas or the amount of rain/flooding that was expected or if the media was just looking for something to report on. But I wouldn’t say that there is always a special kind of hysteria regarding east coast hurricanes generally.
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… bbut you don’t understand. MARTHA’S VINEYARD WAS EVACUATED!!!
HUNDREDS OF IMPORTANT VACAYS WERE DISRUPTED!
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