Thinking About Hurricanes Past

Hurricane David.

It was probably the first hurricane I remember.

As Hurricane Sandy hits the Lehigh Valley, I decided to write about hurricanes past.

The first I really remember was Hurricane David. Probably around 1979-1980.

I had just started middle school in Morris County, N.J., and the storm hit us at night. Back then, you never got these major bulletins about a storm's arrival and there was no Internet.

I was sleeping when I heard this crash and looked at a live fiery wire that was bursting outside my bedroom window.

Well, I bolted from the room.

The storm had hit some big trees in front of our Rockaway Township house, taking down the power lines and both cars parked in the driveway.

We had no school. But we also had no power and no way of getting around. Luckily, a neighbor invited us over for dinner. But what a mess.

Years later, while I was a sophomore at The University of Delaware, Hurricane Gloria struck.

Now this was fun.

Our dorm planned a hurricane party. We had a blast and got pretty blasted. I do remember partying to the Talking Heads song "And She Was," which had just come out.

Years later, when I was city editor at a paper in northern New Jersey, another hurricane hit.

This one was wicked. We had to vacate our offices in Clifton because the water was rushing down Main Street.

And when I went to head down toward Little Falls along Route 46, the view in front of me looked like an ocean. The whole highway was wiped out.

It took me seven hours to get home when it normally took a half hour.

Last year, with Hurricane turned Tropical Storm Irene, it was interesting to get around and see the flooding of the Bushkill Creek and the Delaware River.

So we'll see what memories Hurricane Sandy brings. Probably not necessarily good ones, but let's hope they aren't so bad.

Stay safe everybody.