That put them right in the crosshairs of that huge winter storm that struck on Sunday.
Once in a while, B and I trade text messages while at work. In the week before their trip, she told me she was not going to take boots on the trip. Heels, yes. Flats, yes. Jimmers (gym shoes), yes. Boots, no. I had already heard concerns about a storm hitting the Northeast over Christmas, so I said maybe she may want to look for a Rent-A-Boot outlet.
The boots stayed home when they got on the jet early last Wednesday, but once the first warnings were issued after they arrived, she went out and bought a pair. They went to a play on Christmas night. The storm started the next morning and quickly got serious. But she had ordered tickets for another play that night--she really likes going to shows, and they don't get to the Big Apple that often.
They were staying at a B&B in Brooklyn, a few blocks away from one of their sons. "All we have to do is get to the subway station, and we will be okay for transportation," she wrote me Sunday morning.
Yesterday, I got an account of their Sunday night adventures:
"We left the show and it wasn't too bad in Manhattan, walking along the streets to the subway. When we got to our stop to transfer to the next line, we found out the subway line we needed was not working. We were given coupons to catch a bus that would take us close to where the kids' apartment is, but with all the snow we decided we would be waiting a really long time for a bus. And then, who knows if the bus could even navigate the streets. A decision was made to walk to the apartment."The walk from the subway stop to her son's apartment, also in Brooklyn, was "about eight blocks, at least." They visited for a while, enjoyed some popcorn and some wine and visited together. Then it was time for them to head to the B&B, a few blocks away.
"Boy, that was the real challenge!! Most of the streets and sidewalks had not been navigated. It was virgin snow, some even higher than the snowfall due to drifts. From [the apartment], we walked down a block, left a block, and then right about three blocks ... not a bad walk when the weather is nice. Tonight it was horrendous.Monday morning, she texted me. "Cable and internet are out! No TV or email. Not happy! What's our forecast?" I texted back, and she eventually phoned me.
"We trudged along, and I have no doubt it took twice as long to get there as it usually would. About a block or so from our B&B, a couple cars came down the road, so we moved to the street and walked in the tire tracks. That really sped things up. What an adventure!!"
It was our production day at the paper, and I had to focus on that. Monday evening, she e-mailed me a pair of pictures she took during the afternoon.
This is the street in front of the B&B. Two parallel lines of cars along the curb. I'm just guessing, but I think that scale model of the Himalayas between the cars runs down the middle of the street ...
This one, I think, shows an intersection nearby. It doesn't show any plows ...
Brooklyn, she said, received 17 inches of snow. "Now we are trying to figure if our landlord will be able to get us to the airport on Wednesday. We will need to talk with him tomorrow. There is absolutely no sign of any snow being moved on the side streets." The B&B owner had picked them up at the airport in Newark a few days ago, when roads were only filled with traffic.
I texted her back: "Look at the bright side. You should be flying back home before the Big Apple becomes Super Slush City."
With the e-mail message, I thought the B&B's internet connection was back. No such luck. Monday evening, she texted me: "Cable and internet are still out! No improvement in local roads. Wonder if we need a plan B for airport transport on Wednesday.
"No email is maddening! Want to scream!"
I told her she needs to call her airline's desk at the Newark Airport this morning for an update. She did and found out their flight is still on. But they planned to leave for the airport at 4:30 a.m. for the flight at 7:30. Now, with the area trying to dig out ... anyway, she is trying to arrange a ride to Newark.
****
As for me and my family, we had a very quiet Christmas.
The most important thing about my birthday (the 24th) is that a number of my friends sent me e-cards or Facebook greetings during the day. B sent several e-cards. In one of them, she suggested that I should tell people my age is 16.1 Celsius. I'm going to try to remember that.
I worked at the office that morning (it was closed; I was the only one there), and finished up nearly all my stories. After lunch at home, I went to the Xmas Eve Bowl--a football game played in the snow on the local high school field, played by the school's alumni from over the years as a fun tradition.
There was over a foot of snow on the field, and the game is a great excuse for running around and throwing each other in the snow for about two hours. When it was over, they headed off to a local bar. This time they had 24 players, which must be a record. The game has been played each Xmas Eve for 35 years ...
David went to the game with me and stayed with us the rest of the day. We watched "Toy Story 3" (he brought the DVD), and later we got ready for the 10 p.m. church service. A small service--the kids and families go to the 7 p.m. service. I did some of the readings--hadn't done that for some time, but I have a good reading voice. After the service, I helped my wife with some of her Altar Guild work before we went home.
We slept late Saturday morning. Then I got to work on wrapping gifts for my wife. I'm not very good with gift wrap, and we were running short on Scotch tape, but there was enough.
Now I'll tell you about my latest trick. I got David an IPod Touch for Christmas--it was on his want list. But I just couldn't give it to him like that. That wouldn't be any fun!
So I got an old blank DVD-R disc, put it in one of those little DVD envelopes and put it in a biggish box, with lots of packing material all around it. Bubble wrap, filler material, the whole nine yards. If I had the time, I would have done a "kitten in the kegs" gift (a small box within a bigger box within a bigger box, etc.), but my brainstorm struck too late for something like that.
Next, I took the blank DVD disc and I wrote a message on it. I wrote in a big spiral around the outside of the disc--you had to keep turning it counterclockwise to read it right-side up.
It read, "Hi. I'm your Christmas gift, David. Yes, a non-functioning DVD-R disc. How exciting! But actually, I lied. I'm not really your Christmas gift. Your gift is in a little brown box that is sitting atop the little bookcase next to the dining room table. Merry Christmas from Mom and Dad and Charlie (who is too shy) and Max (who isn't). :) " ...
It finally was time for him to open his big (but very lightweight) box. He slowly opened it, dug through all the filler stuff, found the disc, took it out of its envelope and started reading it. It took a lot of reading. Finally he hopped up, went to the dining room and returned with the little brown box. He was happy with what he found inside, and my wife and I were giggling as we watched him reading the DVD.
I got a heavy navy blue sweater and a six-pack of that Mike's pomegranate "hard" lemonade. My wife made out like a bandit. She got a brown sweater (she had chosen it for herself); a "Bad Cat" calendar, which features photos of cats with funny quips--like the LOLcats; a cube-like player/charger for her IPod, one that you can change the color of. She also got some tank-like lacy chemises. One is white and black, and the other is pink and black and white. Maybe she will wear one once in a while. I hope.
We watched TV during the afternoon. For supper, my wife made ravioli and garlic bread. That was tasty--a tradition for my birthday/Christmas. Then back to the living room to look at more cute dogs and cats acting cute.
Just before 10 p.m., my older son called from Detroit, and we talked with him and his girlfriend about where they had gone and the gifts they exchanged during the day. We talked for about a half hour.
A very quiet Christmas. But a nice one.
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