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After Sandy
And so the storm moves away, inland, leaving us with wind, rain, fires and a long, painful, and expensive cleanup. I feel a little numb.
Have been out this morning, looking around (and helping the super's wife move some of the larger limbs out of traffic, for - eventually - the city to come around and collect). Not too many miles south and east of where I sit, fires rage out of control in Brooklyn, leaving thousands homeless, floods have taken out more homes and structures, much of Manhattan is still without power...
Sandy was everything we were warned about, and then some. Every precaution was in place, and we still took massive hurt.
For all the damage here, we were immensely fortunate in our small area, and we know it. Even the trees seemed to fall AWAY from homes and cars, over and over again. Trees can and will be replanted. Even my beloved Office Tree, now doomed to become wood chippings.
Also: Romney wants to defund and decommission FEMA? He'd better be willing to tell that to the residents of the FIFTEEN states (at least) that have been affected by Sandy. Because yeah, a disaster that covers 1/5 of the country, and will cost billions to clean up, can be handled on a state-by-state basis, sure....
Had this tree fallen the other direction, it would have taken out the local dentist's office. Had it fallen at any other angle, it would have blocked one of three roads. It fell exactly where it did no harm.
Four inches off, and the owner of this car would have been having a Really Bad Morning. We heard a a lot of stunned but pleased "Oh My God" and "How the Hell?" as people came out to find their cars intact....
Some weathered the storm less-well than others...
More photos are up at the Flickr set. They are mostly of the tree-down sort, and nowhere near as dramatic as other photos taken during the storm, but I can't find it in myself to be sorry about that...
And so yeah, by sheer coincidence, I actually have the fixings for French toast. That's a post-disaster moral imperative, right?
Have been out this morning, looking around (and helping the super's wife move some of the larger limbs out of traffic, for - eventually - the city to come around and collect). Not too many miles south and east of where I sit, fires rage out of control in Brooklyn, leaving thousands homeless, floods have taken out more homes and structures, much of Manhattan is still without power...
Sandy was everything we were warned about, and then some. Every precaution was in place, and we still took massive hurt.
For all the damage here, we were immensely fortunate in our small area, and we know it. Even the trees seemed to fall AWAY from homes and cars, over and over again. Trees can and will be replanted. Even my beloved Office Tree, now doomed to become wood chippings.
Also: Romney wants to defund and decommission FEMA? He'd better be willing to tell that to the residents of the FIFTEEN states (at least) that have been affected by Sandy. Because yeah, a disaster that covers 1/5 of the country, and will cost billions to clean up, can be handled on a state-by-state basis, sure....
Had this tree fallen the other direction, it would have taken out the local dentist's office. Had it fallen at any other angle, it would have blocked one of three roads. It fell exactly where it did no harm.
Four inches off, and the owner of this car would have been having a Really Bad Morning. We heard a a lot of stunned but pleased "Oh My God" and "How the Hell?" as people came out to find their cars intact....
Some weathered the storm less-well than others...
More photos are up at the Flickr set. They are mostly of the tree-down sort, and nowhere near as dramatic as other photos taken during the storm, but I can't find it in myself to be sorry about that...
And so yeah, by sheer coincidence, I actually have the fixings for French toast. That's a post-disaster moral imperative, right?