Hurricane Gloria was the last hurricane to make landfall in Connecticut, back in September of 1985. I was living in Massachusetts, but our region was also hit hard by the storm. I was 14 years-old at the time, just the right age to be excited over a hurricane without any of the adult concerns attached to a damaging storm.
My memories from Hurricane Gloria include:
1. Immediately after the storm, my brother and I went into the woods behind our home to find fallen trees, probably risking our lives from the threat of falling limbs with every step. There were many downed trees, some with exposed root systems two or three times my height. I remember touching the tippity-tops of trees that stood more than 100 feet tall just the day before.
2. As soon as our road was clear of debris, we all piled into the station wagon to drive around town the survey the damage, which included downed power lines, homes split in two by fallen trees, the side of a classroom sheered off by a fallen tree, and a small house fire.
3. The Blackstone River, which runs through the center of town, was raging just a few feet below the bridge that bisected the river on Main Street. On a normal day, the river was 15-20 feet below the bridge.
4. Laura Branigan’s “Gloria” played on the radio constantly for more than a week.
5. The hurricane hit on a Friday, so we enjoyed an extra long weekend, not returning to school until Tuesday or Wednesday of the following week, giving me lots of time to ride my bike all over town, taking note of the damage.
6. A pair of jeans was blown into the tree at the foot of our driveway from points unknown. Those jeans remained in that tree for years.
7. My parents allowed by brother, sister, and me to run around the house in the middle of the hurricane. Every now and again, we would sprint around the house in the driving wind and rain, laughing and screaming the whole time.
It was fantastic.
Not sure if Elysha would permit similar behavior today, but I’m confident that my children would refuse, even if it was permitted.
Kids are the worst these days.
