Natural Disaster De Jour

Goodbye Irene!  Last night at 3AM we were awakened by the roar of wind outside. Almost immediately there were several bright flashes. Power transformers were shorting out, 3 of which exploded like bombs all around the neighborhood. The Maple trees outside were bent in the most horrific shapes. The trees being so close to the house posed a real threat to our upstairs bedroom so Jean and I decided to move downstairs and stay in the living room till the storm let up. The power went on and off numerous times. Our stove beeping its warning each time. I unplugged the fridge and computers to be on the safe side. Jean finally fell asleep on the couch. I paced the downstairs watching the branches being ripped off the trees and blown down the street. Police sirens were nonstop during the wee hours of the morning. Somehow I did manage to get 30 minutes of sleep when I was awakened by a large fire truck stopping in front of our house. The four fireman went across the street and into my neighbors house. They were there for nearly an hour. I will have to find out later this week why this was. By then it was time to make a pot of coffee and see what we had to do for cleanup around the yard.  I am pleased to report that the damage was confined to several medium sized branches downed in the yard. The house came through with no damage as did we. Thank you God!