Luckily, my school district is in session today, the day after a Nor'easter wipes out trees and power all across eastern New England. I say "luckily" because I don't want to be teaching right up until July (yet again). There is very little in the world that is as annoying as having the first few days for break being July 4th, which is when everyone and his brother and uncle and cousin also have vacation.
I also say "luckily" because it gives me a chance to go out into the world and see what's left of it.
The driveway wire, loose but still attached to the house and the pole, is low but passable, and it is not touching my car. This means that I can drive through my town to the next one where I work, and I can survey the damage as I go and as I return later. I expect some branches down, maybe some wires here and there.
What I find is mayhem. Pure and simple mini-Armageddon.
As soon as I turn out of my street, there is a huge tree limb across the narrow, one-way street. The car in front of me shows the way to drive under, over, and through the mess, so my car follows the leader. I swing by the park in the center of town, and it looks exactly how my daughter described it yesterday; it looks like bombs went off. Trees are shattered in some spots, giant limbs down, and a tree that snapped in half is blocking the town offices.
I travel down the main road and have to stop because a tree is completely blocking my entire lane. Any wires cordoned off are also swathed in caution tape. There are so many photo ops for disaster that I actually feel depressed and put down my cell phone.
Luckily, I have school to keep me busy. The bad news is that I drive home a different way through a different part of town, and the small playground is totaled with trees, the common has giant trees uprooted, and (to add further insult to our deep injury), it is snowing off and on and has been all day.
Bring it. Bring the snow. We still have several more school days left in June, trees are still standing, and we are still in our "lucky" zone, Armageddon or not.
