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Double Bass Sandy
- Thread starter Anonymatt
- Start date
As a musician and as someone who has worked in the electricity utility biz for over 20 years, "Wichita Lineman" is etched into my heart. Mother's milk. How the same man could give us an abomination like "Macarthur Park" I'll never understand...
Glad to hear the lights are coming back. In our parts of the world they always do. Those line trades folks do dangerous work every day. In natural disasters like this they are in their prime and the work they get done is awe-inspiring.
According to the old timers in Little Neck Bay, the last time this kind of surge happened on the South Shore of Long Island was 1944 and the worst of them was in 1938. The Sound has been protected somewhat even in this one but in 1938 it was real bad in Connecticut. Old Saybrook Connecticut was completely under water and destroyed. As a kid on Little Neck Bay, I used to pick up boats usually in September and return them to Stamford and Larchmont after the storms. I had my own salvage company at 15. I had the Coast Guard mooring assignments for the Douglaston squadron. I charged 15 per pound to drop and haul the big mushroom anchors each season. Sometimes I would dive down as far as 25 feet put a cable on the boats and pull them into shore and dry them out at low tide. Once they were repaired and secure I'd tow them back across the Sound past Stepping Stones Lighthouse to there home dock. As you can see I grew up on the water. My brothers and I were like fish. My brothers Rick and Mark won several big sailboat races on the Long Island Sound. My brother Tony Corbisiero, held the NCAA American Record at Indianapolis in the 800 yard freestyle for Columbia University 1982.
- Dec 13, 1999
- 11,737
- 8,953
- 70
- Disclosures
- Chuck Sher publishes my book, WALKING BASSICS:The Fundamentals of Jazz Bass Playing.
Whoa Chuck, that's cool. The description of you and your bro makes me think of Bud and Sandy from the old Flipper show.
Ha. Not exactly. I played ice hockey in school. Going to Cantiague, Hewlett and Roslyn at 5am for games and practice. My mother was a swim coach among other things (parliamentarian, renowned horticultural judge, programmer for IBM). My dad told us to stay away from her in the summers. Well, she kidnapped my brothers Tony and Mark. Rick and I came away unscathed. The last time Dolphins were seen on a regular basis in Little Neck Bay was in the late 50s. I guess they left with the Blue Claw Crabs and the Little Neck Clams. Oh well. LOL
PS - I thought I'd add N.Y. based trumpeter Dwayne Clemons' description of Spike Wilner's candlelight gig at Smalls Friday Night 11/2 without electricity:
"Forgive me for the short notice, as I was put on short notice, just last night, myself. Since the hurricane, many of us, here in New York, have been faced with moments when flexibility, among other things, was an essential. I certainly don't expect anyone of my invites in particular to show. This is just my indirect way of saying that what little of a scene that we may have in New York, is not curtailed even by one of the worst natural disasters in history. Last night my good friend, Spike Wilner opened up Smalls in candlelight fashion, in as much as no electricity. As a matter of fact, from 14th street and down, it was pitch-black, save for the headlights from the cars and a few other restaurants running by candlelight as well. Nevertheless, there was far more than modest croud at Smalls. At some point, it was standing room only. I can't begin to tell you how inspiring it is to see so many unwavering spirits, who chose to live and enjoy, in spite of this most recent disaster."
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As a kid living on the shore of New Rochelle, I distinctly remember a Boston Whaler pulling into the pier near our place towing about half a dozen dingies and rowboats. Among them was ours. We were very grateful. I also have memories of a large cabin cruiser which had broken loose in a fierce Nor'easter washing up on the rocks nearby. We watched with horror through binoculars as it rocked, smashed and eventually imploded into a million bits.
Does anyone know if the mail is getting through? I have a milk crate full of hand tools I shouldn't need for a while I'd be happy to lend him. They're nothing great, but if they can help him start earning again I'd be glad to do what I can to help.
I offered yesterday to bring a bunch of stuff out for Jeff, but he has already gotten help from his insurance company. He also has to wait for the shop to be gutted and re-walled and re-electrified.
Ok. Please advise him to call FEMA. They are offering grants and low-interest federal loans to offset the cost of rebuilding as well as lost income. I can follow up with more detail tomorrow if necessary.
If my memory is O.K., you were next to the old Glen Island Casino? Mamaroneck Club dock. That was most likely the launch from Douglaston Yacht Club towing them. Your boats and the City Island ones ended up on our side of the sound. My brothers and I were the dockmaster and launch drivers from 1974 to 1980. Small world huh.
fled the house (with family) on the mountain monday night at 9:05,got to the hard road and it was blown shut at both ends...decided to spend the night in at motel nissan smack in the middle of the meadow. cut my way back to the house tues. morning. hard to describe the tree chaos,stacked two stories up the backside of the house. many root pulled and domino'd 30in. yellow poplar and walnut laid so close that i could touch them reaching through the dinning room window. not one scratch,not one broken piece of glass! been sawing for three days and have a tri-axle load of poplar logs and two smoking veneer walnut logs. no power yet...they say tues, or wed.,gotta thank god/tree karma etc.and clean living for saving me from wreck,ruin and possible death.
Jake deVilliers
Commercial User
- May 24, 2006
- 6,349
- 607
- Disclosures
- Owner of The Bass Spa, String Repairman at Long & McQuade Vancouver
fled the house (with family) on the mountain Monday night at 9:05,got to the hard road and it was blown shut at both ends...decided to spend the night in at motel Nissan smack in the middle of the meadow. cut my way back to the house Tues. morning. hard to describe the tree chaos,stacked two stories up the backside of the house. many root pulled and dominoed 30in. yellow poplar and walnut laid so close that i could touch them reaching through the dinning room window. not one scratch,not one broken piece of glass! been sawing for three days and have a tri-axle load of poplar logs and two smoking veneer walnut logs. no power yet...they say Tues, or Wed.,gotta thank god/tree karma etc.and clean living for saving me from wreck,ruin and possible death.
Hey Subie, glad you and yours are okay! "Its an ill wind that blows no good."
Chuck, I'm talking 1965-68 or so. After that we lost our nice home near the water and moved to an apartment.
You look younger than that. When in doubt always take credit.......youngin's. I should have stayed away from the years. I was trying to figure out a way to negotiate your services on future rescue missions.
LOLTwo weeks later and still there are folks in the area with no power and no heat. Repair crews from all over the USA are doing a superb job of putting Humpty Dumpty back together again. But it needs to be said that our grid infrastructure is archaic as crap. Nowadays, nearly every house in my area has an auxiliary generator, because every time there is some wind or ice, the lines go down. Bridges are rusting away, roads are crumbling, sewer systems are overtaxed, and nobody is doing a damn thing about it but giving lip service. Are we still a "first world" country? End of rant...
I think the money spent on the 2012 election might have gone a long way to toward these worthier projects.
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I volunteered out on the Rockaways last week and will be going back out again soon. It's really bad out there (to put it mildly) and it seems it'll be a good while before things get better. A few friends volunteered on Staten Island and they had similar things to say. Occupy Sandy's been doing a kick ass job organizing relief efforts (since no other agencies seem to be stepping in to help, but that's a whole nother can of worms right there).
Power companies and most other corporations are running understaffed to make their balance sheets look good. Long Island and parts of New Jersey are suffering the consequences. Infrastructure repair takes a back seat to squeezing profit from homeowners and business owners.
