Volcano

Off the south shore of Long Island

The volcano appeared one night. Just off the south shore of Long Island. No scientist had predicted it and while many offered explanations none felt satisfying. Most were clearly made up to provide content to news shows.

The first weekend my friend in Long Beach invited a bunch of people over for a party. We all stood out on his balcony taking poorly lit selfies with the orange glow of the #volcano in the back ground. We drank orange cocktails and made bad jokes in our posts.

No one was prepared when boats of party goers went to the volcano and started climbing it. Drinking beer at the summit. The Coast Guard put up a fence and banned unauthorized travel after some woman feel in while live streaming.

After a few weeks the allure wore off and people were posting about other things. Life went on until the volcano billowed smoke and the people on the south shore complained that the ash was ruining the beaches and keeping tourists away. Businesses cursed the volcano as it caused lost profits. All except the car washes who reaped a windfall from cleaning the ash off of any car driving on the Southern State.

Last I heard the volcano had disappeared leaving no trace. Locals liked to joke that it moved to New Jersey where it could blend in with all the other dirty smoke stacks.