I just wanted to take a moment to write about Sandy. I hate to be emo here, but for those who haven't heard about it, I'd like to tell you my stories.
Sandy came to New Jersey as a category 1 hurriane. At first, nobody was really worried about it. But reality hit us hard on Wednesday, October 31.
I had lost power around 3 on Monday, and when the storm left us on Tuesday, we found that the entire state was without power. We left the house on Wednesday to check on our friends, and that was when we saw the devastation. Trees had been uprooted and knocked into houses, poles had falled onto cars and broken wires lay scattered in the street. One town had up to seven feet of water flooding into their houses. All of our boardwalks are gone, and in Keansburg, the arcade machines were tossed into the street by the storm surges.
We checked on our first friend, who appeared to be okay, and we traveled down to Cold Stone (they were offering free ice cream cakes. It was our breakfast and lunch, and at that point it was like survival, so nobody cared anymore.)
We checked on my grandmother's house. There were multiple fallen trees, and a huge pine had collapsed onto the street and taken the telephone lines with it. Fences were blown all over, and one neighbor's house's second floor had been destroyed by a tree. Taking some frozen food, we left my grandmother's to check on our last friend.
The road where my friend lives was horrible. It recieved a great amount of damage, including trees into houses, crushed cars, down poles, and even one house had been destroyed by a tree. (my friend had managed to come out unscathed, though.)
We took the frozen food from my grandmother's to my mother's friend, who had an RV that we could cook the food in for the volunteers. While we were there, we took hot showers and shared stories. Sitting in front of the fireplace, she showed us pictures she had taken on her phone of her friends house in Keansburg. Except from the front door and a window, the entire house was gone.
She showed us other photos of the devestation. We left the house around seven. The next day, we cooked a meal on our grill for the neighbors, and then headed out to buy a heater for the car. The weather had turned cold, and we were still without power. Luckily, the Home Depot was open, but it was a war zone. People were fighting over generators and logs for their fire, nad there were line out the door. We wound up buying a few HotHands, and escaped the store.
That night, our power turned back on. We now have heat, and a hot shower. I count my blessings now, and I'm grateful for what I have. There are still millions without power, and many have lost their homes and jobs. I can only hope that they will have their homes back. I applaud our crews who have worked so hard to give us power and help clear the devestation, and those who have lost in this storm are kept in my prayers. I am going to try to help others as much as I can now, and if you can, please just keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
