I grew up in NYC. I now live in the heart of the south Alabama. That's how I came up with my company name, and my blog name. Kinda cute , huh? Well it wasn't me. It was hubby, but, ehhh who's counting? I moved here after a year in Florida ,when hubby ( wasn't hubby yet0 found a wonderful job here.I have a wonderful house and two of the most amazing youngens' ( yup I'm all southern now ) that a woman can ask for, not to mention the worlds most amazing ,wonderful , caring, giving , and strong husband. I don't often have anything to ever be upset about. i mean we struggle. There are times when things get rough, but who doesn't. Then I watched Super Storm Sandy happen and my perspective shifted.
When hurricane Katrina happened, my uncle came and stayed with us. Even though I watched all the coverage of that horrific time and other than my uncle, I had no real connection to the city and the surrounding areas. I had never been to any of the places I saw. Other than my uncle I knew no one who lived there, and he was in my home and safe. Yes it was tragic and horrific and scary but it was like I wasn't connected. I wasn't plugged in. Then hurricane Sandy came along 7 years later and everything changed .
Watching the storm coverage on the news has been breaking my heart . Watching during the storm the crazy weather channel guy Jim Canttore as he stood in Battery Park ( for those that don't know it's the southern tip of Manhattan , where you catch the ferries to Staten Island, Ellis Island or the Statue of Liberty) , and he was knee deep in water, water that I knew from having been in that spot or one very close to it a thousand times was now 15 feet above normal hit me hard. I can remember hoping on the S.I. ferry a million times from that spot. I can remember meeting Bryant there one afternoon many moons ago. I even took hubby down there and showed him around when we went up to New York and stayed with Karen for Kimberly and Steve's wedding. Watching the Jersey skyline behind him go dark. Him actually looking a little afraid at hearing 95 mile an hour winds on the Long Island Sound and saying he needed to get out of the area he was in frightened me. I have watched him during storms for as long as I can remember and he has never left his post before. And as I sit and watched I never thought that him leaving wouldn't even come close to being the worst of it.
As the storm continued on , I would see in my newsfeed updates from friends and family. I would ask if they are okay . Some would say yep for now. Never did I think that a week later, most would still not have power. Or heat. Or clean water. This is a disaster on the same level as Katrina. The city is just as devastated as New Orleans was. The difference is no levys breached. The results are the same however where entire sections of the city are siting in ruins. Howard Beach, The Rockaways and others. NO power , no heat, water anything. I hurt just thinking about it. All the people that I came into contact with at some point in life , or actually knew and were friends with or even worse the family from my dad's side who I don't have contact with ( that blame is all on super storm Janet , otherwise known as the crazy lady who gave birth to me) all those innocent people who are hurting so badly and aren't getting the help they need.
And then there is Staten Island. It is one of the only places I was ever really and truly happy. From 94-99 or so it is where I was whenever I could get there. It is where all of my amazing friends that got me through the years with my mom were and still are. Staten Island is more than just a borough, especially to all those that live there now or have lived there. Once you have been there it becomes part of your heart. It is a magical place that is still in NYC but so far away you don't always think of it that way. Seeing the horrors that everyone is going through is just horrible and tragic and devastating. I am so far away and can only pray for them to get the help they need. I hope it is soon
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