Still Life with Robin: Blackouts, Barry, Blackouts, Sharks, and Chance...and What Next?

by Peggy Robin

Here’s where we are tonight - Saturday, July 13 - around 10 at night.

If you’re on the west side of Manhattan, you’re in a blackout. Well, 45,000 of you, at least, are in the dark.
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Power-Goes-Out-Across-Midtown-NYC--512688641.html

If you’re in New Orleans or in some other cities, towns and land along the track of Hurricane Barry, you are currently having water and more water dumped on you, coming down by the bucket-load, on top of your already levee-breached, inundated streets.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/13/us/barry-louisiana-saturday-wxc/index.html   

If you've gone up to Cape Cod to spend a peaceful, relaxing weekend at the beach, you'll be staying away from the water, as three beaches have closed due to shark sightings. 
https://www.wcvb.com/article/three-cape-cod-beaches-closed-briefly-on-saturday-due-to-great-white-shark-sightings/28386542

If you're in Chicago, thinking you are safe from east coast hurricanes and threatening salt-water jaws, well, you'd better not get near the urban Humboldt Park, where for the past few days there's been an alligator patrolling the lagoon, eluding all efforts to bring it in:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/11/us/chicago-alligator-search.html 
It’s been there long enough for it to have acquired an affectionate name – “Chance the Snapper” chosen by acclaim on social media:
https://www.newsweek.com/chicagos-loose-alligator-nicknamed-chance-snapper-honor-hometown-hero-chance-rapper-1448723

And now to those of us here in Washington DC on this hot summer night: Just be glad you are safe and dry, and, assuming you have a good, working air conditioner, be glad you are cool, and there's nothing swimming around in our waters that's likely to take a bite out of you. At the same time, let's not forget that just six days ago, our own beloved city was on the national news for a sudden and dangerous turn of the weather, when in the space of a couple of hours four inches of rain fell on us and flooded our roads. Here's a look back at what happened here, on Monday, June 8th:
https://www.washingtonian.com/2019/07/08/here-are-photos-and-videos-of-the-crazy-flooding-around-dc-this-morning/

I have the odd feeling that when I wake up in the morning, the news somewhere will be of lions and tigers and bears....and what is there to say but OH MY!
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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.