Thread Drift

[ny biker]

We have an awesome business here, called Household Goods, in Acton. It was started by an older couple, and is almost entirely volunteer run. They take all furniture and anything you might need to se up housekeeping: dishes, wall prints, kitchen stuff. Clients get a referral from a social service agency to go there, or have to be on some kind of benefits. Many times, they are people moving into housing after being in a shelter. We donated some things there. They have a truck, but it only comes to each area once a week, and they are often scheduled way in advance. So, it's easier to bring the stuff there, if you can. I have had many friends and clients volunteer there (some court mandated!), and they all say it is amazing to watch people picking out some really nice stuff to set up a house.

We have something similar here, but they don't take everything. Their warehouse space is limited so they don't accept all kinds of furniture.

And I will look into the electronics recycling at Best Buy -- more convenient for me than going to the county-run place that's only open on Saturdays.

[Crankin]

She does have a sweet face. The expression is like my DIL, but she is alert and very "mature" looking like my son was as a newborn.
Kinda funny to see him worrying about pee and poop and all that stuff...

[Catrin]

Congratulations Crankin (and to the new parents)! She is adorable, and hope her mom is starting to feel better after everything!

[emily_in_nc]

Congratulations, Crankin! She is so cute.

Thanks also for the info about Best Buy. Since we are on the road, it can be difficult to find a place to recycle electronics. We recently did a whole ride just to recycle laptop batteries.

[shootingstar]

Congrats. Crankin to parents and grandparents. Baby's face does like mature cutie for a newborn!

[ny biker]

Early last year my friend crashed during a bike ride and broke her right femur. With awe-inspiring determination and hard work, she was back riding again within a few months and in less than six months completed a 90-mile ride in the mountains of southwestern Virginia. Yesterday she had another crash, and is now awaiting surgery to repair a broken left femur. Word is that this break is not as bad as the one last year, but still. I can't even believe it happened, I can only imagine what she is going through.

One good thing of note -- I am again touched and grateful that we have a great bike club with many people who do whatever it takes to help when someone is in need. One person stayed with my friend while another rode the last few miles to the end of the ride, got his car and drove back to get them. Then they and another friend took her to the hospital. Several others joined them there, stayed with her, brought in food for dinner, kept her spirits up.

I do consider myself lucky to know so many caring people.

[Blueberry]

Wow NYBiker. That's terrible! I wonder if there's something going on with her bone density? Or whether she was just really unlucky. Either way, .

[ny biker]

Wow NYBiker. That's terrible! I wonder if there's something going on with her bone density? Or whether she was just really unlucky. Either way, .

I do think there are bone density issues. She's over 70. (Did I also mention that she rode more than 5000 miles last year despite the injury? Kind of incredible.)

[Pax]

It's so weird, I keep feeling kinda froggy (spirited), like maybe, once we're home to IL, I'll actually start getting my behind out of the house and doing physical things again! I think it's all the packing and lifting and moving, it's making me feel capable.

[Crankin]

You will be so much happier when you get there. I picture lots of movement in the future!

[Pax]

I sure hope so, Crankin. Being trapped indoors 24/7 while sucking on inhalers 4x's a day for the last five months has made me alternately feel like a caged animal, or a depressed lump with nothing to look forward to.

[Crankin]

We had an F1 tornado in my town last night. It didn't touch down on my side of town, but it was scary as hell being awoken by the emergency alert on our phones. Apparently, only one other person in my office took it seriously enough to go down in the basement, like we did.
There is damage, not terrible, but damage on 2 streets.

[ny biker]

A few years ago when we were on a family vacation (in NH) a tornado touched down on Long Island in the town where my sister lives. I don't ever remember any tornadoes on LI before then. Fortunately it was minor with just tree damage, no damage to homes or businesses and no injuries. But it happens so rarely in that part of the country, I guess many people don't take it seriously.

I recall a tornado in southern NJ when I was in college in Philadelphia. The dorm where I lived was a 24-story apartment building -- I think I lived on the 15th or 18th floor. There were three similar buildings in the middle of an area with no other buildings, and that was surrounded by short buildings -- stores and rowhouses. So you could see for miles from the upper floors. One day I was standing in front of the window in my living room looking out at a bad thunderstorm, thinking how odd it was for the sky to be that shade of green and boy it really is windy out there. Then common sense kicked in and I backed away from the window. Later I learned that the same storm caused a tornado that broke windows at the Cherry Hill mall in NJ.

A couple of years later I moved to the Chicago area for grad school, where I rented an apartment over a restaurant. One day there was a tornado warning and I realized I had no basement to go to. If I had had to seek shelter, the best I could do was to sit in my closet. Fortunately I never had to resort to that.

Here in the DC area we actually have storms with tornado watches more often than you'd think, and a few have touched down in the suburbs with serious results. Again I have no basement to go to, since I live in a 2nd floor apartment. So my options would be the walk-in closet in my bedroom or going down the stairs in the main hallway past the building entrance to the basement level. The two main floor apartments have finished basements with doors leading out to that hallway, so I could try to knock and ask a neighbor to let me in. Or just stay in the hallway and hope for the best. One night before I went to bed there was a tornado watch, so I put my bike helmet and some flashlights in the walk-in closet in case I had to run in there in the middle of the night.

The worst storm damage in my area since I've lived here (more than 15 years) happened because of straight-line winds during a thunderstorm. Lots of trees were damaged, not just limbs blown off but trees snapped in half, and a bunch of cars parked in a lot down the hill had their windows blown out.

These are just some of the reasons that I avoid being outside during thunderstorms.

[ny biker]

Early last year my friend crashed during a bike ride and broke her right femur. With awe-inspiring determination and hard work, she was back riding again within a few months and in less than six months completed a 90-mile ride in the mountains of southwestern Virginia. Yesterday she had another crash, and is now awaiting surgery to repair a broken left femur. Word is that this break is not as bad as the one last year, but still. I can't even believe it happened, I can only imagine what she is going through.

One good thing of note -- I am again touched and grateful that we have a great bike club with many people who do whatever it takes to help when someone is in need. One person stayed with my friend while another rode the last few miles to the end of the ride, got his car and drove back to get them. Then they and another friend took her to the hospital. Several others joined them there, stayed with her, brought in food for dinner, kept her spirits up.

I do consider myself lucky to know so many caring people.

An update to this, with great news. The original x-rays of my friend's injury showed something on the femur, but an MRI two days later showed it was not a fracture. Her knee was injured but no surgery was necessary. She has to wear a knee brace, possibly for 6 weeks, but is able to put weight on it and can walk up to a mile for exercise and running errands.

[Crankin]

Your friend is really lucky, NY.
So, update on the damage. 36 houses were damaged, but not lost. The Orchard House (Louisa May Alcott) and Longfellow's Wayside home were in the center of the area, but not damaged. Trees down, power still out in some homes, but should be restored tomorrow. We have a local, town utility company, so they are on it. Basically, the storm kicked up as it crossed the highway and landed on this area, about the time we had been given the all clear, then got a second warning that it was heading northeast. No damage at my old house, either.