Hurricane Irene Comes, Time For PARTY ?

While many New Yorkers were worried stiff about the horrors Hurricane Irene might bring, others just took it as a good excuse to have a great time. Some people slid in the puddles, others held an impromptu hockey game and many decided it was just time for a good old party in their own homes. New York has been on lockdown since Saturday morning, forcing people to stay indoors after they stocked up on provisions and took in friends or family who had to evacuate low-lying areas.

 

‘We already have the wine and beer, and now we're getting the vodka,’ said Martin Murphy, a video artist who was shopping at a liquor store near Central Park with his girlfriend yesterday. ‘If it lasts, we have dozens of movies ready, and we'll play charades and we're going to make cards that say: “We survived Irene”,’ he said.

Elsewhere, Samantha Fernandez, 11, of Lake Worth, Florida, was sent by her mother on a birthday trip to Boston, Massachusetts, for a pop concert - and now she is stuck up there until Tuesday. ‘She is living it up having a hurricane birthday bash up there, and I'm down here worried,’ Mrs Fernandez told the Sun-Sentinel. ‘She knows exactly what to do though.’

Samantha says she is ready with her friends and family in Massachusetts for the storm with flashlights, water and food - and began a hurricane party by making posters and eating apple pie.

American Red Cross volunteer Craig Cooper said there was ‘almost a party atmosphere’ on the boardwalk of Long Beach in Long Island, New York. In Times Square, some decided to streak, others slid in puddles and hockey players from Vancouver, British Columbia, played an impromptu game. Loren Grush is spending the storm playing video games with friends in the Murray Hill area of New York after she was told to evacuate her home in the East Village of Manhattan. ‘We're being safe, but also having fun,’ she told ABC News. The few restaurants and bars still open in New York were planning hurricane deals and parties.