It could have been worse

Irene came to town last week and has left a lasting impression on hundreds of thousands in the process. No, this wasn't the famed actress, Irene Dunne. Accomplished and heralded as she was, Irene Dunne has gone the way of her contemporaries and is no longer with us. Similarly, Irene Cara the singer and actress who skyrocketed to fame with, ironically enough, a part in the movie, “Fame,” has faded from the spotlight. Her work is no longer in heavy rotation on the radio, or on HBO. This was another Irene. One that will be remembered for many years to come, I have no doubt.

Hurricane Irene gave North Carolinians, Virginians, Delawarians, New Jerseyans, New Yorkers, and New Englanders a rough time. Like our family and friends in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas, we are now personally acquainted with the realities of life in hurricane alley. The wind, the rain, the flooding, the loss of electrical power, mass transit systems being shut down, and even the inability to simply run out to simply grab a paper, or a cup of coffee, or a pancake breakfast all become spectacularly clear when it happens to you, personally.

With all the pain and suffering this story caused us, and the monumental expense of the clean up and repairs, it's worth remembering this – as hurricanes go, Irene was a weakling. Sure, she was big. From edge to edge the storm covered hundreds of miles. But when she came ashore in New York City she had weakened to very nearly tropical storm strength. Wind speeds of 74 miles per hour or more constitute a hurricane. Irene's winds were clocked at 75, just one mile per hour above the minimum standard.

That fact doesn't belittle the pain and suffering a storm of this size brings with it. And it certainly won't bring back any of the poor unfortunate men, women, and children who lost their lives to Irene. But it does give us some context to consider when the next storm marches across the Atlantic and takes aim at Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Florida, or any other landmass that is populated by people who are very much like us.

Hurricane Andrew came ashore in southern Florida in 1992 with winds 100 miles per hour faster than Irene brought us. It wiped entire towns off the map as it moved over land. Hurricane Charlie zigged when it was expected to zag, and carried 150 mile per hour winds right into the heart of the Sunshine State. While Katrina matched Andrew's wind speed, even as it approximated Irene's size. The the detriment of the Gulf Coast.

The moral of the story is, we are not alone. Many of us, from Texas to the east, from Florida to the north, have experienced savage storms that have done considerable damage and caused millions of us us tremendous inconvenience. But as cliché as it may sound, it could have been worse for those of us who personally experienced, Irene.

Perhaps that is the silver lining to this big, black cloud, that has thankfully died of natural causes as it meandered north toward Canada only days ago. It really could have been worse – for so many of us.