Hurricane Sandy

Though no longer a hurricane the skies murky look looms the effects of, "post-tropical" super storm Sandy that packed a hurricane-sized punch as it slammed into the Jersey Shore on Monday and as it reared its ugly head here in Massachusetts. It hit us hard here in Mass, lots of trees down, floods and power outages. Certainly not the devastating affect it had on others.

Sandy whipped torrents of water over the streets of Atlantic City, stretching for blocks inland and ripping up part of the vacation spot's fabled boardwalk. The storm surge set records in Lower Manhattan, where flooded substations caused a widespread power outage. It swamped beach fronts on both sides of Long Island Sound and delivered hurricane-force winds from Virginia to Cape Cod as it came ashore. Making me wonder how my Grandpa would have been preparing his beach front house with his boats in the water…miss him :/ 

To be honest when I saw the prompts to evacuate certain areas I thought “this can’t be real” There is always that doubt when they hype up a storm and we get, well, NADA! Unfortunately, the fun in missing work and staying in with my little family turned quickly into mournful, feel bad, wish it were a regular day, type of attitude. As I watched countless homes and businesses being literally washed away. People’s pets nowhere to be found and the death toll on the rise…as accident after accident took the lives of people’s loved ones. Imagine running out for a gallon of milk “before it gets worse” and having a tree fall on your car, killing you instantly …Leaving a wife and kids at home wondering why “daddy” is taking so long and Not answering his phone?!? {{Insert the “ugly” cry here}} Heart wrenching!! 

The aftermath of Sandy hangs on every street corner as you see branches and debris scattered throughout. Wondering where this will leave the UGLY presidential election. Wondering if it will bring some sort of comradery between the torn apart sides. It’s as if voting for one over the other is like questioning whether there is a God or if you are even a human being. Can’t someone just prefer one over the other, for their own personal beliefs? Hoping the ugliness dies down on social media networks such as twitter and Facebook. Hoping America comes together, among our differences to help those who are now in need. One of the perks of being “involved” in Hurricane Sandy is {WE} are close. We live in distances close enough that we are able to drive out to help people. When devastation hits, such as Katrina all we could really do is send money. The thought of really getting out and helping others makes my heart smile. This weekend we will be helping those in need. Everyone can get involved. Send your kids over to an elderly neighbor’s house to pick up branches, offer those you know that have no power a place to stay, go to areas that suffered devastation and be a volunteer. Do something worthwhile!

Ralph did manage to get our pups out a few times before the winds really picked up...as you can see they were drenched within minutes!! Luckily I prepared Homemade beef-stew to warm up my boy...and lots of cozy blankets for all four of us! 

 Wishing you all a Happy and Safe Halloween!!!