Notes from Coastal Flooding Zone C

We got back and had a lovely lunch on a wonderful Friday summer afternoon at Kenn's Broome Street Bar, that venerable institution in SoHo celebrating its 39th anniversary this October. Bloody Marys, salads, expresso and sorbet, Sambuca, alternately playing "Heroes" on the juke box, thinking  about "Ostalgia" at the New Museum and gazing into My Better Half''s dreamy  blue eyes, while a row of party-ful  young women celebrated Friday afternoon at the bar. I love Broome Street Bar. Difficult to believe that a hurricane was working its way toward us like an uncapped blender on steroids.

Got home, put stuff in garage, set up cafe table in dinng room, battened down various hatches and set in for the now inevitable, seasonal disaster watch. Having coffee on front porch and writing this before we stow away remaining outdoor furniture. My son moved all of his plants off of the back deck into the house so things are looking a bit like "Day of the Triffids" inside our home on Waldorf Court.  Not sure why, but I displayed the Stars and Stripes on our covered porch. Funny, after walking around on our way home, we stopped at Tribeca Bagels on Canal, and we were chatting with one of the knockoff goods hustlers who was on line to use the john. I made my by now tired remark that after a recent spate of tornadoes, blizzards, earthquakes, and now a hurricane,what's left for NYC -- volcanoes/lava and Godzilla?  He replied, you have to wonder if people are doing the right thing, living the right way, that all of this punishment is being visited on our five boroughs. Interesting how the comment always returns to "the fundamentals" -- marriage equality.

It's nearly noon and it sounds like the last Q train has already passed through. We may take a walk to get another newspaper, a bottle of wine, some ingredients for our daughter, the philosopher-artist-baker, and then its time for a mostly indoor weekend with our kids, waiting, watching, and thinking.

--Anthony Napoli, Deep in the Heart of Brooklyn