fenwaydav's Blog

I have a story about the blizzard of "78", but first I have some important details to get out of the way. 30 years ago I was one year shy of coming to  Massachusetts.  I was driving a taxi in New York City with friend and then roommate Joan.  Joan was a bit eccentric in several ways.  First off she was more than double my than age of 24.  She at one time was a fashion designer who literally lost millions in the stock market.  She sank her last $50 thousand into a NYC taxi medallion.  Joan still had her dresses made for her by this Russian immigrant named Irene.  She had one style dress in every color of the rainbow and doubles on the more popular colors like Black and Navy.  Joan stood in heels about 4'7" and weighed about 200 lbs.  She drove the taxi from noon to midnight and I took the opposite shift.  When Joan drove in her designer dress she had a cigarette holder clinch in her teeth with a Winston constantly lite.  One other thing we had a little T.V. in the front seat that pulled into the lighter, Joan would listen to her soaps.  It was Joan that got me hooked on All My Children.

When I first met Joan, I was still living in that apartment in Brooklyn I had wrote about where my cat Lucille committed suicide.  After Lucille, I had got another cat, as a mater of fact I had 4.  When Joan and I was talking about me moving into to her east side apartment, she said she didn't want cats.  I was heartbroken so she said I'll try one to see if I like them.  Before long all 4 and myself were now in this fancy East Side of Manhattan apt.  

 The 4 cats that we had now became 13.  It was before the days Bob Barker was making his now famous announcement about spade and neutered.  Life was pretty good at this time Me and Joan and 13 cats.  When I was home Joan wasn't and visa versa.

Then came this day in February.  The forecast was for heavy snow, so Joan didn't take the taxi out that day. It was about noon, when a knock came from the door. "Who is it?"  City Marshals open up..... They stood there holding an eviction notice.  Joan had been having this fight with the landlord and was withholding the rent.  We had 1 hour to be out of there, no ifs ands or buts about it.  Here we were in the middle of what would become to be known as one of the worst storms in city history and had to get out.  We gathered a few things plus 13 cats and piled into the taxi which was in the garage. Where were we to go and more important how were we to get there. I had a friend in Greenwich Village, he ran a dumpy hotel.  We some how made downtown.  The streets were empty.  Driving was horrendous.  There were spots that were totally clear while others had snow drifts of 15 feet.  My friend was at the desk and they had one room on the 7th floor of a building that had no electricity.  He thought we only had 1 cat.  I don't even know how we did it, but one  by one we manage to get 13 cats and ourselves to this tiny one room, with a bathroom in the hall.  Boy, gone were the days when I could run home to mother.  Mother was now living in Florida with Husband #2.

We were able to give the cats to friends one be one.  With our connections we were in a new apartment in a week.  I eventually moved out on my own and like I said about a year later moved to Bedford, Ma.  That my friends is a whole new story for another day.  So as we all think about how we made it through,  the one's old enough have some wild memories to tell.   If you are to young to remember or even have been alive I'm sure your storm is coming........