Goodnight Irene

It seems silly to write this, but Holly the cat and I are fine. Lots of flooding in my neck of the woods, but to be honest, I've been through hurricanes Gloria and Floyd and they were worse.

It was Holly's first hurricane. She did not fair well, I am sad to report. The wind howling againt the windowpanes, upset her. Water came in through the windows, that bothered her. The thumderboomers made her cry and run around like a chicken with her head cut off, meowing pitifully.

She didn't stop until the sun came out about six am, by that time it was raining softly. She jumped on my bed, and fell asleep. It was only then I could fall asleep, every time I had tried she woke me up with her antics.

I was without power for about 18 hours. I am grateful for radios with batteries.

Now I know a lot of people are saying it was more hype than anything- that may be true. Weather models aren't 100 percent accurate, and hurricanes, can change their mind. I wouldn't be surprised if we get another one this year or next. What made this one so bad, is August was a very rainy month, the area got over 8 inches when the hurricane hit. So naturally the ground couldn't hold much more water, and hence, major property damage with many still out of electric.

In the end, I'm safe, my family is safe, as well as my neighbors and friends. I can't say that for one of Princeton's finest, Michael Kenwood, 39, a first aid responder who died in the line of duty on Saturday. My thoughts and wishes are with his family.