It could have been worse

Saturday there was the most horrible wind storm.

I hate wind-I'll be honest, I'm afraid of wind.

I've had some wild wind experiences including getting blown down, literally, in Buffalo while walking to an attorney's office for a house closing. Its actually a pretty funny story. I was walking with a client (of course, a very quiet man, not real friendly) and as we were walking down the street the wind blew so hard, that as I stepped off the curb, I was blown right down on my knees. Both knees - wham - in a skirt, carrying a briefcase. As I fell, my instinct had me turn to the client and reach for him, which, after all was said and done, I found myself paralyzed with my hand clutching his pants and my face in his, um, well, you know. I seriously could not get up without his help. I looked up at him and he was absolutely horrified as I squeaked out "could you please pull me up?" I was mortified, not to mentioned my knees felt like they had been smashed with a sledgehammer. Not good.

Then there was the time I was driving on the thruway during a wind storm and the huge overhead sign came crashing down just as I drove my little Honda CRX under it. Unbelievable.

Then in high school as I laid on the floor in front of the huge window of my parent's living room watching General Hospital, the maple tree fell over - thank God it fell parallel to the house and not into the window- I would have killed, no doubt.

So whenever the wind blows viciously, I get a little panicky.

I prayed my maple tree in my deck would hold strong against the wind. It faired pretty well, but we were left with some large gaps in the canopy and I think every single helicopter seed pod fell that day. So many old giants in the City fell victim to the wind. Debris and branches and stumps are on every street. So sad. Trees make all the difference in a neighborhood. For us, we will have a bit more sun on the deck, but it could have been so much worse.