Thursday, July 19, 2007

PIPE BLAST SCARE OF '07

Yesterday was by far one of the most bizarre days in Murray Hill I've experienced in recent memory. It started out innocently enough, with a little rain. Then the little trickle of rain turned into something more steady. Next thing you know, we have a full-blown monsoon. This lasts for much of the morning, ruining everyone's morning commute. After a few hours of misery, the rains finally come to a stop and we get some much needed sunshine.

With the skies clearing up, it feels like we're going to get to salvage what's left of the day and possibly have a good night at the bar. Boy was I in for a rude awakening.

At about 6pm, I get a call from the bar. Being occupied at that moment, I didn't answer the phone right away. After taking care of business, I called the bar, but didn't get any answer. That indicated to me that maybe the bar was busy and my help was needed. I look out the window and I see an eerie, familiar sight. A sight that reminded me of two significant events: 9/11 and the Blackout.

I rush over to the TV, turn it on and there was the newsflash: STEAM PIPE BLAST ROCKS MIDTOWN! "Oh shit!" I recall myself saying aloud. I looked out the window again and saw throngs of people walking aimlessly on the sidewalks and the street, many of them with cellphones pressed against their ears.



I rushed to the bar to assess the situation and lo and behold, just like the past two significant events (9/11 & The Blackout), the bar was packed with concerned citizens' eyes locked on the TV's throughout the bar. With the help of JD RUSTY, the night bartender, I did what I could to assist THE SPIN DOCTOR in dealing with the thirsty, scared crowd. We were swamped for a couple of hours until things began to settle down, once everyone realized that it wasn't a terrorist attack.

For the full story, click HERE

The rest of the night was eerily quiet, with the traffic being blocked off of 3rd Avenue from 34th Street to 43rd Street. In a strange twist, at around midnight, there were a group of bar patrons from JOSHUA TREE, playing stickball on an empty 3rd Avenue. Reminded me a lot of the Blackout, when people roamed the streets, looking for something to do. Weird.

I can only imagine what today's morning commute will bring. Should be interesting.

Oh and by the way, our new Weather Girl HEIDI JONES says that today's going to be another soaker of a day, so bring your umbrella. Don't say I (or should I say we) didn't warn ya!


Celebrate LITE NITE THURSDAYS with ALL LIGHT BEERS (bottles & drafts) going for $4.00 (4pm-10pm)!



NUFF said