Goodnight, Irene -- Worship Service Unaffected by Loss of Power

As most of you know, Hurricane Irene has made its way through North Carolina and Virginia and is still wreaking havoc up the coast of New England. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who continue to endure this storm.

For most of us here in Northern Virginia, it was nothing more than a tropical storm, but I don't use the term "nothing more" lightly. Winds in my neck of the woods probably did not exceed 50 miles per hour, considering by the time Irene's eye went by us, the maximum winds were barely 90 mph. It was not so much the intense center of this hurricane, but the fact that it spread out so wide that presented the potential for harmful conditions.

While we did not lose power here, several areas did and some are still without power. The Fairlington area was in the dark, particularly in the area of our church, Fairlington Presbyterian. It did not go unnoticed that our Methodist brethren across the street apparently cancelled their services in an abundance of caution. We had a grand total of 22 (by my unofficial count) who braved what was left of the weather to come to a building that was without power, which turned our organist into a pianist for the day. He did not (and never does) disappoint. The music ministry of our church is small, but mighty indeed.

While I am thankful that we were able to have a service even with a loss of power (which was restored about midway through), my thoughts and prayers continue to be for those who have already endured the effects of Irene, and for those who have yet to stand in its path. May her impact on you be minimal.

A West Coast Perspective on an East Coast Surprise

And I thought leaving California would get me out of the "earthquake zone". Clearly, no one is exempt.

Folks asked me when I moved the first time back in 1999 why would I do this? Why would I subject myself to snowstorms, blizzards, etc. throughout the winter months? My short answer back then: (A) I was in love (and still am) and (B) snowstorms, unlike earthquakes, can at least be predicted.

So imagine my shock when at about 1:50 p.m. this afternoon when the area around my desk began doing a subtle roll. I thought I was sharing Mrs.-Me's unfortunate occasional vertigo until I looked at my co-worker, who was thinking the same thing I was -- Are we having an earthquake?

Now keep in mind my California experience (about 18 years in total), especially with my first such event, the Whittier Narrows quake that knocked me out of bed from a sound sleep in October of 1987. I learned at that point that my co-worker had lived several years in Japan. We know all too well what has happened there in recent months. At any rate, we had our bearings shot for a short few minutes (including the approximately 45 seconds that rolling continued), then almost laughed about it. We were both thinking we could have stayed in our previous locales and taken THIS abuse.

Several of our co-workers were not so enamored by the situation. One was in tears, not because of the shaking so much, but because despite her best efforts, she was not able to reach family members because phone lines were jammed. After we were evacuated for a short time, an Executive Committee member came out and told us we could re-enter and allowed those who were too uncomfortable going back in to adjourn for the day. Having been through enough of these, I went back inside. There was no structural damage, and all seemed to be OK. A few went home, but the landscape definitely changed for the rest of the day.

To those family members who read this, we are fine and nothing and no one got hurt.

We remain,

All shook up in Alexandria.