Hurricane Sandy

 

Today (according to the tv) is the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Sandy making landfall in the area.  Just last night my father remarked how the storm turned out to be nothing.  He seems to be basing this on images he's seen of Ian down in Florida, and seems to have forgotten all of what was on our news, after we finally got power back 8 days later.  And his sewage flooded basement.  And how we had to remove and dispose of everything in that basement.  And the damage to all the surrounding towns.  But I didn't forget any of that.  

Still, we lucked out.  Things could have been much worse.  What I lost, I guess I didn't need that much.   Not having power meant a lot of radio listening and candle burning, and I couldn't use the internet for more than a week, but I got by.   My brick building stayed intact, my position high on an embankment, and at the top of a hill, meant that I was in no danger of flooding, and I even had a working stove and hot water, so it was like luxury camping. 

Plus I had all my photos, so I don't forget any of what happened.   Here are just a few highlights of what  I saw, things saved on this computer.  From top to bottom- Ocean Grove's torn up boardwalk (the part not protected by dunes), the Manasquan municipal docks and something new there, and the front yard of my parents house, with everything removed from the basement and sorted for eventual disposal.   The people driving those crane trucks are surprisingly efficient and precise, but I guess they get a lot of practice.

Now it's been ten years, and while we were done with all we could do in a few months, and the free distribution of food has long ended, some people are still rebuilding.