It's definitely been a fretful few days communicating with my friends and family in New York and New Jersey--some by phone, some by less-energy-using text, and some by wait-and-hear e-mail. It was definitely a great relief to me that my sister and her husband were in that lucky swatch of New Yorkers with uninterrupted power considering they had a toddler and newborn with them. Some of my friends in downtown Manhattan were without electricity and water. Some camped with friends further uptown, some pieced together a life that included showers at the gym. Fortunately for them, the power came back on last night and one, watching tv for the first time since Sandy hit, was heartbroken at the images of destruction brought on by the storm but so grateful for all the work of first responders, utility workers, and volunteers.
Along with those folks, I've been especially grateful for the thousand-plus linemen who have traveled from out-of-state to help NJ PSE&G work 24/7 to get their power back up. As of last night 1 million customers had power back, with 600,000+ left to go. Unfortunately, my mom is still in that 600,000+ group and we've been fretting a bit with the temperatures dropping this weekend and all local motels/hotels booked up. Major props to my mom who has kept calm and carried on. Also to my friends in NJ still without power--they've been lucky to have such a tight community to bond with. It's amazing that a community becomes tighter and stronger when disaster strikes.
And here I sit in unaffected South Carolina, mixed feelings of gratitude and worry, hoping that recovery from Sandy will happen soon for everyone. Fingers crossed.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
isn't it weird that sandy happened on the east, and it was 90 yesterday here (and will be 90 for the next few days.) sigh...
Post a Comment