Hurricane Irene

Category 1, 50-85+ miles per hour sustained winds, 1 million people without power

It’s 2:38 a.m. in New York right now and the city is bracing for Hurricane Irene to come through.  Most people have evacuated as the city has basically shut down.  Airports are closed.  Public transportation has ceased.  The bridges are out.  They are considering whether to turn off the electricity to all of Lower Manhattan.   

We are struggling to get continuous coverage on this side of the pond.  BBC1 is reporting but only in snippets.  Sky News also is covering the hurricane, but also highlighting other events as well, such as Libya and other world news.  CNN is providing the most coverage but still not continuously.  What can we say?  We’re Americans; we want round-the-clock-coverage.

Here we go.  We’re getting news about North Carolina – the Outer Banks specifically.  “North Carolina Soaked From Irene”, reads the headline.  Coverage is spotty as the reporter is cutting out.  But here’s the message.  “The majority of residents are without power.  The rain has not let up for the last 30 hours and there is widespread damage.  Now flooding is the issue.” 

In the Chesapeake Bay area, the winds are up to 50+ miles per hour, which has triggered 911 to stop responding to emergency calls.  It’s just too dangerous to send out a responder.  They warned the public if they didn’t evacuate this could happen, and since then only about 15 calls have come in.  None have been life threatening but rather reporting of alarms going off.  A team is waiting to evaluate each call and if it is deemed catastrophic then they will make a decision whether to send a responder depending on the current weather conditions.   

It’s 3:00 a.m. and the storm is moving up the coast.  They say it should be through NYC by noon.  The good news is the storm is not as bad as originally projected.  The reporter in Maryland said although there is widespread damage, “Baltimore Gets Pounded” reads the headline; there has not been catastrophic destruction like originally expected.  There is a feeling of camaraderie as people ban together and brace for the worst.  That’s the upside; trying times unite us and heroic stories begin to surface.

“Breaking News – a nuclear reactor in Ocean City has gone offline because of the high winds.  There are two reactors, and apparently one is still working, but the other one shut off.  All personnel are safe and there is no imminent danger at the moment.”  However, we know how this goes.  It’s never good news when a nuclear reactor acts up.  This is one story we will all need to follow.

My kids still don’t understand how so many people are awake and reporting on this storm.  “Why don’t they have to evacuate, and aren’t they tired”?  Another question, “Is this live?”  Good questions.

We are watching and waiting as our friends and family sleep.  May the storm pass over you without too much damage.  For those of you who have already weathered it – we hope you are safe.  For those who are waiting, please know we are praying for the best.  And when this whole thing is over, please send us an email and let us know you are OK!

London Riots

There is a lot of action happening over here right now. London is making headlines for what started as retaliation for the killing of a suspected drug dealer on Friday night.  Since then the situation has escalated each day growing more out of control and widespread.  It started in a section of London, Tottenham, and has spread to more than twelve areas within London and five major cities outside the city, some hours away.  There's no rhyme or reason.  The vandals text each other to meet at a predetermined location at a certain time, and then violence breaks out.  It's like a game of cat and mouse. Vandalism pops up in one area and then erupts in another, and the police chase the mayhem arriving after it's too late.  

Here's a run down of the damage.  High Streets are getting destroyed.  Stores are being vandalized.  Cars are going up in flames.  Businesses are burning down to the ground.  Looting is rampant and there is no end in sight.  The biggest surprise is the ones who are causing all this mayhem are minors - adolescents barely out of puberty.  They caught one kid who was just 11 years old.  The authorities are urging parents to ask their kids where they've been, and if they are involved, keep them home. 

How have the authorities responded?  Well, they've been on vacation.  Seems a bit odd but they all took holiday at the same time.  Granted, no one new this kind of incident would occur nor would it take a life of its own.  It really didn't make the news (non-stop, that is) until Sunday.  Friday was the initial incident.  Saturday was the surprise follow-up, and by Sunday it became apparent a pattern was developing.  David Cameron, the Prime Minister, ended his vacation early in Tuscany and flew home, but not until Monday, which turned out to be the worst day yet.

We had ventured to Croydon to go shopping at Costco yesterday.  It's not close so we don't go often, and when we do go we end up spending the day.  We didn't return home until 6 pm.  Later that evening we turned on the TV only to find out Croydon was ablaze and mayhem abounded.  That's when it really hit home.  The violence was closing in.  

The PM held a conference this morning calling for an end to the violence.  He said we would not tolerate any more disturbances.  If young people are acting like criminals, they will be charged as criminals.  He is bringing in 10,000 more police tonight (we only had 6,000 on duty the past few days which clearly was not enough).  There was talk of calling in the army, shooting rubber bullets as a deterrent, and shutting down Blackberry messenger.  However, nothing has been approved.  

People are scared and are responding accordingly.  Businesses shut down early today.  The town of Kingston closed down this afternoon.  Football matches for the upcoming days have been cancelled.  Electronic stores, jewelers, and other high-end retail shops were boarded up and not open for business. London is in a state of fear and many are praying for rain - anything to deter the violence.  

The good news is so far tonight there seems to be less violence.  The stepped-up police presence seems to be making a difference.  Now Manchester is in the hot seat and there is unrest there right now.  However, overall it does not seem to be as bad.

There's a TV camera crew interviewing a group of kids on the high street right now.  The kids said they are looting because they are angry.  They can't get a job.  Unemployment is high. They need to steal things so they can make money.  They are 18 and they have no future.  Those were their words.    

We're thinking, "Grab 'em.  Throw them in jail." Unfortunately, jail is not an option.  They are so overcrowded the authorities are busing prisoners outside the city.  So much for that solution.  

So we sit, waiting for all the violence to end and hoping it won't come to our little town.  Only time will tell.  Tomorrow we'll read about how tonight really went.  

May the city recover from all the destruction that has happened these past few days.  It's time to heal and move forward, and bring justice to those who caused some much pain.  A couple of lives were lost, so many areas were destroyed, and some people were left with nothing.  But there's always hope.  This morning people were outside sweeping the debris.  Friends came to help neighbors.  One person muttered the famous British motto, "Keep calm and carry on."  We'll get through.  Let's just pray this is the end.

Kutno, Poland

Eight days of baseball.  It was a dream that came true.  Twelve teams from all over Europe came together to compete and become the European representative at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA.  We had been waiting for this moment all summer long and it finally came.

Downtown Kutno

Kutno is a small town two hours west of Warsaw.   It's in the sticks, even by Polish standards.  There, on the side of the road about a mile and a half from downtown Kutno, stood the baseball compound.  It housed the centerpiece, the major's stadium.  There were also a few minor league practice fields and an outdoor pavilion that proved to be our safe haven from the rain.  The concession stand housed a single Polish woman who cooked up some of the best Kielbasa and Polish sausage.  Even the chicken nuggets were made fresh daily.  And the dormitory, well I never actually got inside as it was guarded.  Yes, guarded.  The coaches and players were given badges and only those with badges could enter through the gate.  The rest of us were left out in the cold and the rain.

Guarded dormitory

Our team, Great Britain, was comprised of six Americans, four Japanese, and one Australian.  Most of the kids were expats and came from all over London, spanning both British and International schools.  It was quite an eclectic mix.  They had one thing in common - their love of baseball.

Team Great Britain (at the airport)

The first two games went off without a hitch.  We played Kutno, the host of the tournament, and then Germany, the defending champs.  We won against Kutno by a landslide, 16-0.  Unfortunately, Kutno is not as experienced but they were gracious hosts and actually won against Belarus later in the tournament - one win under their belt.

GB warming up

Opening ceremony first night before we played Kutno

Germany, on the other hand, was an exciting game.  Some said it was the best little league game they ever saw.  The kids, on both teams were competitive and well matched. Germany, actually Germany-US, because the team was comprised of Americans stationed on a German air force bases, was the favorite to win the tournament as they had won it the past two years.  We gave it our all - played our best pitchers, presented a solid line-up, and played the best defensive game possible.  No errors.  We played perfect baseball. There were many highlights, with our leftfielder making a diving catch in the gap ending the game 2-1.  But honestly, we were sitting on the edge of our seats the entire time.  We held our breath with each play and exhaled when it went in our favor.  It was truly and amazing game played by both teams.  Unfortunately, Germany got disqualified the next day, due to paperwork errors, and within 24 hours they left and were removed from the system, as if they never came.

Team huddle after we defeated Germany

We faced Netherlands the next day and lost 10-2.   We knew they were good but we thought we'd have a chance, and we were coming off a high from the previous two days. However, we started to unravel a bit.  Our defense was good but our hitting was weak; we had trouble getting on base.  We just couldn't keep up with the Netherlands who had trained together for over a year and came to Poland a week early to bond at a farm nearby.  They were polished and subsequently, won the whole tournament.  They are number one.  They are also very big!  They towered over us.  There were several kids on the Netherlands team that were literally over 6 feet tall.  They're a great team and our kids hung out with them in the dorm and at a restaurant one night.  Not many restaurants could accommodate us so we all ended up at the same place.  The Netherland boys and our kids really bonded.  They even made up a dance together that we have on tape.  Inside Out.  Later we took pictures of the biggest Netherland boy next to our smallest player.  Both are twelve years old.  Unbelievable.

Post game handshake with Netherlands (in green).  

We ended the tournament in 6th place.  It was a memorable event, one that will be etched in our minds and hearts forever.  We'll never forget the passionate, red-haired Italian lady that kept yelling from the sidelines, "B-e-l-l-a Carlos.  B-e-l-l-a!"  We'll never forget the Romanian girls on the side of the road.  Is that legal?  Most importantly, we'll never forget how Kutno welcomed us - the parade with the bagpipers and Polish step dancers, the cannons they shot off in our honor, their hospitality.  The town rallied behind us, accommodating groups of 30-40 at a moments notice.  They served traditional Polish food, perogies and American food as well.  The locals were warm and welcoming, even though we really didn't understand each another.  "Prosze" (please) they would say and then gesture for us to go first.  There is a feeling of hard times and oppression still in the air, but Poland stepped up to the plate, swung, and hit a home run.

Polish step dancers with GB team looking on

"Town Hall" of Kutno

The rest is history as they say.