i know what to do in a tornado. growing up in oklahoma taught me what a “wall cloud” is and when to head for the bathtub with your mattress in tow. i know that when the temperature suddenly drops on a hot summer day and the sky turns yellow its time to turn on the news and see what mr. england has to say. like i said, i know what to do in a tornado.

moving to new york city i assumed i would experience a winter. a real winter. not the sunny denver kind but the harsh, gray new england sort. and janurary through april proved to be just that. harsh and gray. but i never assumed i would come in contact with an earthquake and a hurricane. all in the same week, no less. now, i missed the earthquake and i was bummed. i had just left our place to run some errands when the earthquake quaked. leaving curtis alone to live through the swaying walls and cracking foundation. but it was different with the hurricane. curtis, myself and irene had quite the evening together.

we prepared for the worst. extra food, water and candles filled our shelves. and we even had a plan in place in case we needed to head to higher and drier ground. but it turned out that williamsburg was high and dry enough. yes we got rain and lots of it. and yes we got scary crazy winds that managed to keep me wide eyed all night long. but irene proved to be, at least for us, a fairly polite visitor. i know she was not as kind to many of our neighbors and my heart goes out to the people who are having a very different and difficult sunday afternoon.

like i said, i know what to do in a tornado. and now i know that in the face of a new york city winter you need a good long coat, warm shoes and the ymca to keep you sane and happy. in an earthquake standing in a door frame seems to be important. and in an hurricane you need water, candles, mad men and uno. but in all these natural disasters you know what you really need? underwear. preferably clean underwear.

just ask curtis. loves.