Irene Pays a Visit

In her march up the Eastern seaboard, Hurricane Irene did not forget to visit Greenwich. Though diminished in power by the time she arrived, she still made a fairly impressive showing. Downed trees and power outages were the order of the day, not to mention a rather awesome storm surge:

Here we see GPD Marine Division head Jim Bonney enjoying a refreshing picnic at Roger Sherman Baldwin park. By the time this picture was taken, the donuts were already history. (Click on the picture to see it full-size.)

Greenwich Avenue was a ghost town. A dozen storefronts were boarded up, and many others had their windows taped. Almost every major church in Town was closed, an act of God preventing the institutional worship of God for the first time in living memory.

Ironically, it's six years since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana. Compared to that devastation, Irene was a mere summer shower. It may take a few days before power is fully restored around Town, but we should all be grateful that things are no worse. "We should consider ourselves very fortunate," as First Selectman Peter Tesei summed up the situation. Yes, indeed.