The thing about being holed up in one’s house for two days is that you never really have a clue what’s going on outside. Sure – being one of the luckier ones to have power during Hurricane Irene, except for about four hours on Sunday – I watched the reports on television and read online news stories to get a grasp of how bad the situation really was.
But it wasn’t until Monday when I ventured out did I see for myself what Irene did to our town. And I only traveled on a few streets.
What a mess.
Downed trees, limbs, branches and wires were everywhere. I saw a large limb was hanging into a lane at the intersection of Brooklawn and Villa avenues on the Fairfield-Bridgeport line, posing a dangerous situation for drivers.
And then there’s the devastation in the beach district. I admit I am curious enough to try to gain access to the area, but I will stay home. The photos on the Fairfield Citizen website tell the story.
An estimated 500,000 electric utility customers still are without power. My sister in Newtown is one of them and plenty of friends are bemoaning on Facebook the lack of light, some of them right in my immediate neighborhood of Stratfield. And then there are others who have power, but no cable or Internet service and no phone.
Curiously, I have not seen a utility truck yet, although a Town of Fairfield cherry picker and wood chipper stopped on my street to remove a branch in the roadway. A neighbor could have done that easily. Couldn’t the driver have been put to better use? Just askin’.
I can’t imagine what this devastation is going to cost. The federal government better pony up some money. But where’s that money going to come from?
Our emergency management team did a great job preparing for and assessing the damage, with concentration evidently in the beach area. But to be honest, I think I received one too many automated calls from our interim first selectman. I appreciated the ones prior to and during the hurricane, but was the one we all received yesterday afternoon really necessary? Again, just askin’. I suppose it was for all those people still in the dark and waiting.
The one good thing to say now is the good weather we are experiencing that will help the cleanup. But I just read on weather.com that Tropical Storm Katia is being tracked in the Atlantic Ocean, possibly heading toward the eastern coast of the United States. Let’s hope she changes her mind and goes elsewhere.

OK, so I have been waiting all day to post that headline. It is just before 3 p.m. and power has been restored. During the outage’s duration, I finished reading a true-crime novel, now I can get back to some semblance of daily living – like showering. Let’s hope the power stays.

I honestly think I see the sun trying to peek out from the dense clouds.

After nearly 12 hours of watching Irene, I must say I fared well. Lots of small limbs and leaves scattered around the yard, but no downed trees – my big worry. But I suppose until the ground dries, falling trees is still a threat. Yard cleanup will have to wait a couple of days.

I hear some sirens and chain saws nearby.

Being here on the east side of town, tucked away in my house for nearly two days, I really have no clue what has been going on in the more threatened areas of the town or the state. But the photos on the Fairfield Citizen website certainly tell the story. Check them out here.

I hope my fellow residents are OK and any damage is minimal.

One final thought, the cat is still snoozing.

Lost power at about 11:30 a.m. Lost Internet connection too. I am able to communicate with outside world temporarily because of an AT&T connect card gizmo (costs me a small fortune too).

Limbs, branches and leaves dropping on the house as the wind gusts.

It became a little brighter a short time ago – Irene’s eye passing through perhaps?

Cordless phones not operational, so have an old phone hooked up.

Battery for laptop has only three hours remaining.

So now let’s see how well I prepared for this moment with non-perishable food, batteries for flashlights and plastic Chinese food containers filled with frozen water to be used as ice blocks to store perishable items for a time in a cooler.

One last observation – the cat is in blessed bliss. Sleeping away.

Signing off. I will try to check in later if I can.

Stay safe.

Ssshh, it’s just past 10 a.m. and I still have power. Who knows how long that will last.

The wind is kicking up again and the rain essentially has stopped.

I took the opportunity of having power to make myself a real breakfast – eggs, bacon and toast – that hopefully will sustain me for a while should the lights go out.

United Illuminating reported a little while ago that more than 9,500 Fairfield households or businesses are without power; more than 91,000 throughout its coverage area. Internet service in slow, thus why I couldn’t access Connecticut Light & Power’s website to check the number of outages.

News 12 is reporting that numerous roads are closed throughout town and the water is rising and possibly could reach Old Post Road. That’s scary.

(And speaking of News 12, one of the anchors actually asked weatherman Paul Piorek if the eye and the center of a hurricane are the same things. She also felt a need to explain that the number of outages does not correlate with the number of people actually without power because more than one person may live in a house. Save me…Time to turn it off.)

Oh no, the lights are flickering.

I called my mother this morning at her assisted living facility in Shelton to see how she is faring. Her question to me: “Was there a storm overnight?” She slept through it all. I’m jealous.

My brother-in-law apparently decided to go for a run this morning in Newtown. Can’t wait to find out if the police escorted him home.

My cousin, who lives in nearby Bridgeport and only a few minutes from me, reported this morning that she has no power and the sliding glass door in her kitchen shattered into millions of pieces.

Playing this morning on FX was the movie “Me, Myself and Irene.” No kidding.

Apparently, the sun is coming out later this afternoon after Irene leaves.

It is just past 8 a.m. and I have power. And I don’t know why. The wind has been fierce and frightening. But something odd occurred around midnight. As I was watching “The Shipping News” on TV, the power went out.

That was strange considering Irene had barely arrived. Seconds before the power died, I heard a weird noise – and I am at a loss to describe it. It sounded like metal scraping on metal. It was loud and it was unnerving, so much so that it disturbed the cat, who suffers from deafness.

About an hour and a half later, the power was restored. But not before I endured a low, annoying roar during the entire outage. The disturbances didn’t end there. In addition to the sound of sirens off in the distance, I heard a voice (no, I am not crazy). It sounded like a man was on a bullhorn, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying.

Sleep finally came, but it wasn’t restful. The wind started to kick up and the rain was pounding. And it was humid and uncomfortable.

Just before and at daybreak, the wind was in full force, and I have to admit that I was a little scared. My house is surrounded by trees. I watched through a crack in the draperies as the trees swayed back and forth, spewing leaves and branches.

At this hour, the wind seems to have dissipated some and the rain appears to have stopped. News 12 just reported that wind gusts were recorded at 59 mph in nearby Bridgeport. It sounded and felt stronger.

At 7:40 a.m., United Illuminating reported on its website that more than 52,000 customers are without power in its coverage area; more than 7,000 in Fairfield. But so far, I have been spared this morning.

And newscasters are warning viewers and listeners that the full brunt of Irene won’t be felt for a few more hours. Great…

I woke up grateful for a few things. The most important? A cup of hot morning coffee.

In late September 1985, I had planned a party at my apartment in Bridgeport, but a few days before I had gone to Weston to visit my parents and ended up having to stay there when Hurricane Gloria hit. After being holed up for a day or two with Mom and Dad, we survived, although I don’t remember much of the storm itself.
But what I do remember is that when the winds and rain moved on and the sun came out, Mom and I went grocery shopping for party supplies. The store was nearly devoid of customers except for us. The grocery cart was stocked with food, including all the ingredients to make tacos for my guests. So much for worrying about the destruction left by Gloria – I had a party to host. The only thing I really worried about was whether or not my guests still were coming. I needn’t have fretted – even those who said earlier that they couldn’t attend now had joined the revelry. I think they needed to get out of their houses.
The event was dubbed the Hurricane Gloria party after that.
Gloria apparently is going to meet her match this weekend when Irene soars up the coast and hits Connecticut. I have no party planned this time. Instead, I have become more practical – planning my survival in the event we lose power or trees come down. Foodstuffs are in the house that don’t necessarily need long-term refrigeration but still will sustain me. Reusable bottles have been filled with tap water. The batteries have been checked in the flashlights. I even have plenty of cat food and treats for my buddy. And before Sunday, I plan on removing the furniture off my deck – don’t want any of that crashing into the windows.
Irene is forecast to be a Category 1 hurricane, with winds of 70 mph and gusts at 85 mph or more. It has the potential to do some serious damage. Emergency officials and the American Red Cross have been warning and urging residents to be prepared for days now.
Are you?
First, keep handy the town’s emergency information phone line, which is 203-254-4899. Periodic storm bulletins will be posted on the town’s website, www.fairfieldct.org and the Reverse 911 system will be used to call residents about evacuations. Bulletins also will be posted by the state Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security at www.ct.gov/demhs.
The American Red Cross urges you to take three basic preparedness actions: get a kit, make a plan and be informed. Here is what should be in your kit, which is an easy-to-carry, water-resistant container with enough supplies for three days:
• Water – one gallon per person, per day.
• Food – non-perishable, easy-to-prepare items such as tuna fish, peanut butter, crackers, and canned fruit. Make sure to include a manual can opener.
• A battery-powered or hand-crank radio, flashlight and plenty of extra batteries.
• A first aid kit.
• Prescription and non-prescription medication items. Include medical supplies like extra hearing aid batteries, syringes, etc.
• Copies of important documents, including birth certificates, insurance policies and social security cards.
• Sanitation and personal hygiene items.
• Extra cash. ATMs and credit cards won’t work if the power is out.
• Special items for infant, elderly or disabled family members.
• One blanket or sleeping bag per person.
• Pet supplies (collar, leash, ID, food, carrier, bowls).
If we all follow the guidelines and heed the warnings, we should be safe and sound.

I feel doggone good.
Ruger, the newly installed police dog, has received his badge. After months of fundraising and searching for a handler, the Fairfield Police Department added Ruger, a German shepherd, to the ranks of the officers. At a special ceremony Monday morning, Ruger and his handled, Officer Kevin Wells, greeted their constituency. The Fairfield Citizen reported that Ruger, named after the Sturm, Ruger & Co. gun manufacturer, which has its headquarters in town, was rather blase about the festivities. But he will be anything but when he is put into action.
The Police Department has been without a K-9 unit since the 1990s. There was a brief attempt a few years ago to install a unit but it never really got off the ground. Ruger will be used to ferret out criminals and help find missing people. He and his handler will begin training soon.
Ruger is on staff because of the outpouring of financial support from the community, including Sturm, Ruger & Co., which after learning about his name, will pay for his annual maintenance costs. I feel good because I too donated to ensure our town obtain a police dog. In the past, the department has had to rely on other towns’ K-9 units to help in an emergency and that could waste precious time during an incident.
To read more about Ruger, read the Fairfield Citizen article, which you can access here.

Since 2009, the Fairfield Public Library has been assisting the unemployed and those seeking new careers. The Jobs program originally began with a handful of speakers but quickly developed into a job-seekers’ employment resource stop. After the economy tanked in 2008, library officials started seeing a number of people, mostly out-of-work commuters to New York City, who went into the library seeking information on jobs. That got the officials thinking that maybe the Fairfield Public Library could do even more for the new job-seekers. Thus, the program was born. And along the way, it has garnered awards and recognition.
More than 3,000 people have gone to the library to take advantage of the free programming. With the unemployment rate still hovering around 9 percent and because of the success of and need for the program, the Fairfield Public Library continues its series this fall.
Jobs 2011: Back to Work will take place from September to December. In addition to its featured program, the library is offering Small Business Strategies, also from September to December, and Technology Topics, which begins in mid-September and runs through October. There also are networking opportunities and one-to-one career counseling available.
All of the programs are free and open to the public. Registration is required and can be done online at www.fairfieldpubliclibrary.org or by calling 203-256-3160. More information about individual sessions also can be obtained via the website.