In which I see the worst of New Yorkers

Well, it's gonna snow tomorrow.

 The mayor of New York, who's a real asshole anyhow, induced panic by announcing that tomorrow's storm would be 'historic' (his words). So, of course, on the ONE day we get shore access during business hours, there are hundreds and hundreds of panicked New Yorkers at all the local grocery stores... like nothing I've ever seen. No riots, but at the shitty Pathmark where all the poor people shop, close to my company's docks, there are people fighting over shopping carts and parking spaces. So we tried a COSCO. No dice. Full, line down the street just to get into the parking lot.

 The high-end gourmet grocery store in Red Hook, was a little better. Hard to find parking, and it wasn't all rich women, hot babes and hippies, the usual customer base. There were poor people braving the hoi-polloi  to get at the ingredients to make French toast, which, apparently, is required when it snows, judging by the dwindling stock of milk, bread and eggs. The Free-range, GMO free Quinoa and Arugula displays were in ample supply, though, so the hippies are taking it down a notch, man, and not getting their dopamine fix via thoughts of the Vegan delights of the table.

 I picked up some pate, (Hey, I like ducks to look at AND eat, and hate to see a good goose liver go to waste), diet soda and sushi... you know, stocking up for the storm. My tankerman got his staples, as well. Then we settled in for the hour's wait in line at the register. There's a damn good reason to go to Fairway- better quality people. Even the unwashed masses were on their best behavior. I only had to scream "Hey, I'm walking here!" once as I made my way across the parking lot.

 But yeah, we're hunkering down. Shovels laid out, mooring lines doubled up, everything stowed shipshape. 24-36 inches is forecast. This is gonna suck, no doubt, but we're in a good place. I topped off our own fuel supply this week, and serviced the generators. Generally my company likes to give us a couple of really small cargo parcels during supremely bad weather, to be sure we earn our paychecks and can't get indoors. I'd like to get a large cargo fixed that requires us to fill every tank, warming the decks... that much less shoveling to do, you know? We'll have to see.