Sandy update
It isn’t possible to put into words what New Jersey is like these days.
Typical scene
At a minimum … “changed forever.”
For the first time yesterday, The Legal Genealogist climbed out of her powerless, heatless, internet-less home and ventured out to see what life was like beyond the quiet streets of Central New Jersey. And, like everyone else, I ended up with no words.
Telephone and utility poles snapped like matchsticks. Major highways narrowing to one lane every few hundred yards because of yet another downed tree entangled with yet more wires. All of those storage sheds you see at every Home Depot store you’ve ever been to… mangled and mauled, as if they’d been made out of aluminum foil. Debris everywhere.
And sirens. Sirens everywhere. Police. Ambulance. Fire. You can’t travel any distance here any more without pulling over to let some emergency vehicle by. And your heart clenches just that little bit more as you hope that, whatever the emergency is, it isn’t too much for someone else to bear.
Our coastline has been ravaged. Our cities darkened. Our infrastructure clearly unequal to the task of meeting a storm the likes of this one. Millions and millions of people are still in the dark, without power and without any hope of power being restored any time soon. The rail system will take weeks to bring back fully online. There are few gas stations open and operating. Those that are open have lines that stretch literally for miles.
Every news report makes us cringe. More bodies found. More deaths. (People, please… if you have generators, keep them a distance from the house. Those two teenaged sisters in Newark didn’t have to die of carbon monoxide poisoning…) More destruction. More homes damaged beyond repair.
All we can do is keep putting one foot ahead of the other and soldier on.
And we can’t do it alone.
New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland… all the states impacted by Sandy… we’re going to need your help.
If you can spare a little, consider making a donation to a charity of your choice that’s pitching in to help with disaster relief.
In my own personal experience, I’ve always found the Salvation Army to be a good choice for disaster relief. Whatever differences I’ve had with that organization’s political stands, I have to say the Salvation Army’s politics have never affected the way it reaches out when the chips are down.
Another possibility, always, is the Red Cross, though some of us in the New York metropolitan area will never quite forgive its handling of post-9/11 contributions.
And please… don’t forget our furry friends. Help for existing shelters can go a long way towards saving lives in this time of crisis. One no-kill shelter that always needs help — and never more than right now — is the North Shore Animal League on Long Island. National groups collecting for disaster relief include the Humane Society of the United States and the American Humane Association.
There are bound to be con artists out there — there always are after a disaster. So be careful and check out any charity that asks for your help. At a minimum, check it out with the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving site before handing over a dime — or a credit card number.
And keep the entire east coast in your thoughts and hearts, please. These are dark days here…
Thank you for sharing this. We netizens forget that we live in a virtual world (reading awesome blog posts, btw); and as genealogists living in the past; oblivious to real life in real places. I live in the farthest reach of Sandy and only experienced a little rain and wind, disconnected from the news stories of what happened elsewhere. Thank you for the reality check. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some donations to make…be safe.
Thanks so much for your kindness, Tim. It’s going to be a very long road to recovery around here.
Judy, such a wonderfully written post – you touched my heart with your descriptions. Growing in South Florida as a child, I remember hurricanes, though I doubt any came close to being what you experienced. Our thoughts and prayers continue. I’m sure what you wrote will inspire those who can to help. I know it did me! Thank for sharing your view of this tragic event!
Thanks, Karen! I know we’re not the first to get hit and we surely won’t be the last, but we all need to stick together whenever something like this happens. Sure do appreciate the support we’re getting from the rest of the country as we try to struggle back to what’s going to be our “new” normal.
Judy,
As one who has greatly enjoyed and benefited from your blog, thanks for the nudge to donate to the Salvation Army.
Take care as best you can,
Martha Robinson
Thanks for your kindness, Martha. My whole area needs all the help it can get, and we all appreciate the concern of the rest of the country.
Judy,
Praying for a safe, strong, speedy recover for you and all in the NE.
Aliza
Thanks so much, Aliza. We need all the thoughts and prayers we can get here!
Nothing is every the same…..sometimes what rises from the ashes is better…hoping that as the reality sets in…..that you have the strength and determination to set things right and go forward. A look back at what our ancestors have gone through is all we need to know we can make it through.
I echo your thoughts regarding Salvation Army versus Red Cross. For those making contributions check out one of the sites that break down charities by cost. Put your dollars where they do the most good.
Judy as always thanks for your wonderful blog! Here’s wishing you a warm, cozy home soon.
Kelly
Thanks for the kind words, Kelly, and we are all so grateful for the care and concern of others.
My heart aches for you and all those who have been impacted by the storm. Living as I do on the south east coast,just a few miles from the beach, I know that it could have just as easily been me. I pray that help will come soon. The pictures and pleas for help I have seen on TV have been heartbreaking. My first instinct is to jump in the car and bring needed supplies. That is not practiced so I will donate to my Church and to other groups who will be there in your time of need. You have been such a help to us in the Genealogy Community. I hope that as a community we can rally and give what we can.
Cheri
Thanks so much, Cheri. All of us in this area are so grateful to all who’ve opened their hearts (and their wallets!).
So beautifully said, Judy. It’s one thing to ‘hear’ about it from the comfort of our own homes so many miles away, but it’s another to actually ‘know’ someone who is there in the area that is indeed “changed forever.”
We, too, have problems with the Salvation Army, so we elected to send our donations to the Red Cross. Glad to hear, though, that the Salvation Army is doing a good job.
Best wishes to you – and all of our prayers to you, your family and friends.
Carla and Dean Maitland
Thanks so much — we know we’ll be back, stronger than ever, but the journey can be challenging for sure.
I thought about you and my third cousins who also live in NJ as I watched the radar on Monday (I’m in CT). The aftermath has certainly been sobering & yet I’m overcome with gratitude that the storm wasn’t a higher category than it was.
You’re oh so right, Christine — as horrible as this is, it could have been so much worse.
There’s not much truly meaningful to say to someone experiencing such a storm. But people do rally together, learn to depend on each other all over again, share what they can, live simpler lives, help others, and make different decisions.
Thanks for sharing, Judy, and do take care of yourself the best you can – you’re a very special person. Cheers from the other side of the continent.
Thanks, Celia, but seriously — I’m just inconvenienced. So many others here have been hit so much harder. I have a house, it’s sturdy and dry and safe. That’s so much more than so many of my neighbors can say.
Thanks for the nudge to send in donations, the Red Cross for me.
My heart and prayers goes out to y’all on the east coast.
Thanks, Keith! We’re going to need a lot of help around here.
Judy, this is a very powerful post. You express all our feelings about this swift, shocking devastation. Now that our extreme weather events have become more fast and furious — as Governor Cuomo said, “a 100-year storm every two years”– we must remember Sandy so that we can adapt and change our infrastructure, our policies, and our expectations to meet this new reality. Many people thought the forecasters were exaggerating. But you give a heartfelt, moving expression to the human suffering we now see as a future reality–in New Jersey for you and in Connecticut for me. We should not forget. We should begin to ACT now, against future destruction.
We certainly paid the price this time for NOT having acted before, Mariann. I can only hope those elected this year will commit to spending money on infrastructure.