So this week had more rain, and now there’s flooding here in Pennsylvania. Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene flooded New Jersey, and the rain from Tropical Storm Lee flooded us. So the trip to NJ planned for this week was put off because some of the roads are out. The creek at the back of the farm re-flooded the field, and we even have dampness in the cellar. Aunt Lina and I were talking about it at breakfast and I told her that I thought that it was a sign from God that the move to suburbia was a bad idea. She was not amused.
I went to Google Earth and looked at the town that we’ll be moving to. White Cedars is tiny—like two square miles, with a park with a pond or lake on the West side, and a big tract of tree-coverage to the North of the park…kinda Northeast….that’s a few blocks from the house Aunt Lina’s moving us to. That means I won’t be able to just shed clothes and shift at home, jump out the window and run to cover. I asked Aunt Lina about shifting. She said that we (I liked the “we” part) were going to have to be very stealthy if we were going to shift.
Aunt Lina spent the last couple of days fixing up the cabin over by the road so we can use it. She’s moving some of our extra stuff into its two rooms, for storage, but she suggested that on weekends we might be able to come back here. It will depend on who moves into the farm after us, and if they want other people there. Aunt Lina is Jack’s sister, but our chances of weekend visits will depend on whatever agreement he comes to with his tenants.
The cabin is a rustic little dump, with a tiny bathroom and a shower—no tub. There’s the kitchen/dining/living room, and a bedroom. We jokingly called it the “carriage house” when some NY artists came to visit us a couple of summers ago. They loved it, and considered it “camping” when they stayed there. I think the painter, Alex, would have preferred to stay at the farmhouse with us, but his girlfriend, Chandra (it used to be ‘Sandra’ but then she moved to NY) didn’t want to “be a bother”. Translation: they were afraid that I’d hear them making love.
If we come back here as guests, I may not be able to run off into the woods and shift. What if they have pets? Or kids? It might even be better if we just don’t come back at all. Make a clean break.
We went into town for a few things and it took an hour and a half just to get a few miles down the road. There was a bridge under water, detours and the hardware store had no electricity, so we had to go over to Dickson City to the Wal-Mart. Actually, the highways weren’t too bad, just local streets. And it seemed everyone was out on the road today. We came left before noon and came back in time to start cooking dinner. I can’t imagine what it would have been like trying to get to NJ today!
Tomorrow’s the 10th anniversary of the attack on NY. I was two when it happened. I remember them playing the airplane crashing into the twin towers on TV, and the building collapse. It was before we moved to PA. Aunt Lina thinks that traveling East on Route 80 might not be a good thing, so we’re postponing our trip until Monday. I don’t know why she’s insisting I see the place before she signs any contract. It’s not like I have any real say in the matter. She’s my guardian and I really don’t have a say in things until I’m 18.
I don’t resent it – she’s been my parental figure ever since I could remember. She could have lied and had me call her Mama or something like that, but it’s not the way she works. She’s honest, and up-front. When I couldn’t say “Aunt Lina,” she accepted “Alina” but always referred to herself as “Aunt Lina” until I could say it. She’s strong, willful, strict, yet fun.
If you want to know the truth, I’d rather be “stuck” with her in NJ than be anywhere else with anyone else in the world. Yes, even my biological mother; she didn’t want me, and I know that I’d be nothing but a bad reminder to her. It’s a long story, and I don’t want to get into it.
I think that even in NJ, my aunt and I will manage to have fun. And we’ll be closer to NY City. Plays, galleries, cafes and shops…I love Manhattan. And it will all be less than twenty miles away! Perhaps there is a silver lining in these thunderheads.
Until my next post…
Randi
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