#Irene #Catskills #watershedpost

the above block is across the street from my store. the entire block, including apartments above stores has been evacuated, at least 2 buildings on that block have been condemned, because they are falling into the creek which is behind it. (Those are hay bales, not giant marshmallows.) The pharmacy collapsed, the supermarket is a shell, and several other buildings in the village are gone. Governor Cuomo came back to Margaretville today and to some of the other hard-hit towns. See pictures here. (Don't tell anyone, but I used to have a little crush on his father Mario, who has a marvelous intellect and is a great orator.) He brought Janet Napolitano-I guess FEMA is part of Homeland Security, and some other big shots.

 Though still in Massachusetts I'm helping moderate a liveblog on the amazing Watershed Post and coordinating some relief efforts. Friday I'll see it for myself and it won't be pretty.

My store is fine. My house is fine. I'm fine. But so many others aren't. It's a true disaster. People still trapped, bridges, roads, homes, buildings, and the entire town of Prattsville destroyed...The size (three counties are involved--each about the size of Rhode Island) and geography make this an especially challenging situation.

The one good thing I can say is how amazing people are--how selfless and helpful and caring in times of need. If you check out the Watershed Post link above you'll get a better picture of it all.

So, I know this is a downer, but I started this blog to write about running a store in the Catskills and I guess this is part of the deal. But just so I don't leave you feeling totally miserable, here are some pictures I took in the store last weekend before ... Isn't it cute? (Don't be shy about clicking on the pictures to get the full effect.)

If you're still with me here, and wondering about the #'s in the title ...I don't use facebook or twitter--too distracting, too ugly (facebook), one/two more things to do, and the real reason/truth is, I'm not very social. But these past few days on the Watershed Post, I've seen how they can work in a crisis. Sunday, the Hurricane was a non-event as far as the media was concerned, desperately trying to eke stories out of almost nothing. It was social media that got them, finally, to the Catskills, Vermont and a few other places hit hard by the storm. Hence, #'s. And if you don't know about # a/k/a hashtags, I didn't either until I read this.