Aftermath

  I just discovered we have internet service again.. .no power to the neighborhood yet,  but a generator keeps us up and running at This Old House… believe me, I’m not complaining.

  I  am still shocked over the devastation I am seeing again and again in news images caused by Hurricane Sandy, a small portion of it right here on Ct’s shoreline.   Having grown up on Staten Island, we are used to the water – we’ve always been surrounded by it and it has never been a menace.  Because of it’s close proximity we spent many a summer day with friends down at the Jersey Shore.  In some places it’s virtually gone.  Entire neighborhoods—block after block …  are gone.  You know what comes to mind?…. I hope Snooki and all her cohorts who made millions and millions off that very Jersey Shore will donate atleast a  small portion of their earnings to help that community rise from the ashes.   Literally… ashes.

   NYC is practically imobile… Hoboken, Brooklyn, Queens, Atlantic City… … just unreal, the disaster.  People are still stranded in their homes by floodwater, days later.  Drowning victims still being discovered… Powerlines are still dangerously grounded.   The death toll is now up over 150.   One  heartbreaking story… two little boys on Staten Island, Connor and Brandon Moore, were swept from their mothers arms when she attempted to get them out of her flooded SUV and onto higher ground.  Their bodies were just recovered, days later, in a marsh nearby. She was at the scene and had to identify their remains.  I cannot imagine the horror….and  I can’t stop thinking about her.   So many more stories…..

  This is a photo I took a few miles from here down on the water.   Lobster Landing sits in a parking lot by a dock.  The water has risen out of Long Island sound and has come up the road, days after Sandy has left.

 This is a backyard..notice the planting pot?
Normally there are benches here to sit and enjoy the view.
The water rose up and filled the backyards and basements of many homes
along the shore. This backyard is approximately 1/2 mile in from the sound.
My thoughts are with those who are struggling with horrific loss…
may they find strength and resilience in the days and months to come.

   I have not checked my e-mail yet, but I’ll assume my 24 Project participants have sent me your entries. I’ll post the project within the next day or so.  – thank you


26 thoughts on “Aftermath”

  2. I'm glad you are safe.
    We don't have to deal with Hurricanes where I live in Minnesota and I've never had to deal with flooding, but we do have tornadoes.
    I watched the news as they showed New Jersey…I just can not imagine it at all. How does one clean up after that??? That entire neighborhood destroyed by fire.
    I work in a hospital and I kept thinking about them and if they evacuated and I hear some had to evacuate after the fact. Are there any zoos that got hit? I'll have to google them. All of the people without power, subways, transportation…my prayers go out to them all.

  3. I wondered where you were and am glad you came through it unscathed. My heart breaks for all those who did not, for the families of the people who died, for those who lost everything but themselves. It's all just too much.

  5. I girl I went to High School with is retired from State Farm Insurance and her husband is still a catastrophic claims adjustor for them. He was dispatched to Frederick, Maryland today… quite far inland, so I asked her if there was a lot of damage in Frederick or if it is simply a 'jumping off' point for he and his co-workers. She said it is most likely a jumping off point for them to do their adjusting and claims work and that he will most likely be on the East Coast for YEARS!

    I think about those on the East Coast who have suffered such deep losses from this Hurricane and wonder what the future holds in store for them and just how long they will be without 'real' homes. I'm not sure that those who lost their homes and loved ones in Katrina are all back to where they were before that storm. It's just the saddest of situations.

    Keep those you love close.

  8. Karen…for the past few days I have been glued to the TV, my laptop and the newspapers, hearing the stories and seeing the pictures of the devastation. Your post was by far the most informative, a persons perspective. I'm so glad you are alright. My heart goes out to all of those that lost their homes and members of their family. The whole country is involved in one way or another in helping you guys out. How ever long it takes.

    XO,
    Jane

  11. Whew! Relieved to hear something from you! The news stories are heartbreaking. (I saw the houses on fire in Old Saybrook, not to mention the pounding and flooding going on) Awful, just awful.

  12. thinking about you & yours. it breaks my heart to see the damage. the hubby & i were there in new york state & new jersey state & to see some of the places we did visit totally destroy … makes me so sad. so very sad. prayers & thoughts to so many. (:

  13. Glad your ok and back ! Ive stopped watching the news stories just because its so sad to know that we can all be happy and in a split second it can all be took away > My thoughts are with everyone affected ! Have a good evening

  14. You summed up this tragedy nicely, something I have not been able to do, I still can't wrap my head around it, even though I watch the images daily.
    So many people whose lives are ruined. I find myself angry…but at who?
    Great post, well said Karen.

  15. So glad to hear you are safe! Storms are so terrifying! It's tornados that devastate us in our area–and I've experienced one!
    I must have missed the post on the rules for Project 24 –sent a picture, but nevermind–I am just too tired after work these days to even think straight!

  20. So very heartbreaking! The southern RI shoreline has been devastated too…so far no one is allowed anywhere near it to photograph. I watched the Staten Island news segment last night on tv and can only cry with them.

    One of my college roommates lives on the Jersey shore and I have been unable to reach her…ugh! It will not be the same again.

    Meanwhile, one town inland, we have been so very lucky…

  21. Peter and I may be down here in the "safe for now" Florida panhandle, but we're New Yorkers and New Jerseyites in our hearts. I spent a summer in New London, Ct., at the dance festival and one in Milford, Ct. at a workshop. And of course, Cedar Grove. Do you know how Alan fared? So glad you are all okay in Ct. xxoocousinnonnie

  24. I awoke with the mother's story being told by the local radio announcer and the catch in his voice was unmistakable. The effects of the storm are going to be far reaching and I pray we can unite as a nation and pitch in and help in whatever ways we can. The pictures are gut wrenching… and words truly just fail sometimes.

  25. I wondered how you and your family had fared during the hurricane. I, like you, cannot take in how much damage there is -to property, lives, everything. And the story of those 2 little boys haunts me, as well.

    xo
    Claudla

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