From LONG ISLAND – by Ann Parry (annparry.com) August 5, 2020
My neighborhood hasn’t had power since early yesterday afternoon, shortly after Tropical Storm Isaias crashed into Long Island, so I used my iPhone 11 Pro to create and publish this post.
My daughters – one in Seaford, one in Merrick – lost power very briefly or not at all, so my family’s experience was typical, since one in three L.I. electricity customers lost power.
A tree in my backyard snapped in two several feet from the ground, with the top toppling over the fence behind it:
At dusk, I captured the above photo of the tree most severely damaged in my backyard. Just the bottom few feet of the trunk were still on my side of the white fence; the rest of the tree had fallen on the other side. (You can see my shadow on the left side of image.)
When my daughter Sue’s power returned, I drove to her home a mile away. On my way, I passed a huge tree near the curb toppled down across the front yard onto the roof of the house, which had to be evacuated.
That night, while returning to Sue’s home to drop off some cheese and eggs to store in her refrigerator, I slowly navigated a dark maze blocked by trees felled by wind gusts up to 70 mph. All was dark until I reached her street.
Cars and pedestrians made their way by moonlight – and headlights & flashlight – on Camp Avenue in North Merrick, as seen in the below short VIDEO:
Governor Andrew Cuomo, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran and Town of Hempstead Supervisor Tom Clavin are among the officials calling for an investigation into PSEG power company’s poor to non-existent communication with customers experiencing power outages, downed power lines….
From LONG ISLAND – by Ann Parry (annparry.com) June 23, 2019
On June 6th, five Apollo Astronauts and two Apollo Flight Directors helped the Cradle of Aviation Museum on Long Island celebrate the 50th Anniversary of NASA’s 1969 Apollo 11 mission, the first time humans walked on the moon.
That day – part of a multi-year series of CAM events leading up to the anniversary on July 20, 2019 – started with a Press Conference featuring many who would be guests at the dinner that night: Apollo astronauts and flight directors, plus Long Islanders who worked for Grumman when it was NASA’s LEM contractor:
During the cocktail hour, guests could snack, dance to music by the Freeport High School Jazz Band, and take selfies with Apollo astronauts they spotted.
Astronaut Fred Haise was chatting with a couple, whom I later learned were Peter and Kelly Kelly, when I asked if they’d like me to take a photo of them in front of the Apollo 11 moon mural:
Days after the event, I realized Peter Kelly was the youngest son of the late Thomas J. Kelly, Long Island’s aerospace engineer who led the design team for the Lunar Module and whom NASA calls the Father of the Lunar Module.
FYI from fLI: Thomas Kelly was born in Brooklyn in 1929, and he was raised in Merrick – where I was born and raised, decades later. One of us graduated valedictorian from Mepham High School, and the other taught there briefly during a long career in Bellmore-Merrick CHSD.
Freeport H.S. Groups
Three student groups from Freeport High School performed at the Apollo at 50 Anniversary Dinner and Cocktail Hour: FHS Select Chorale singers, FHS Upperclassman Jazz Band musicians, and FHS Navy Junior ROTC cadets.
Space memorabilia and space-themed Items donated for the Silent Auction fundraiser were on display in a corridor off the ground floor level of the atrium. Interested bidders didn’t need to be at the anniversary dinner, since bids were placed securely online.
