Blanket of Kindness

Wednesday, November 14, 2012
 
People stopping to give hot coffee to the linemen from all over the US, neighbors cutting trees for neighbors, groups gathering boxes of diapers to bring to those displaced by the storm...all of these are examples of extraordinary kindness in the days and weeks following Hurricane Sandy.  In many ways we have been blanketed with kindness.

What are YOUR experiences with kindness during this stressful, difficult time?  Here are some inspiring, heart-warming stories shared by the ladies of Heartworks:

On the Wednesday after the storm, after we’d found help to clear some of the twelve 50-100 ft. trees that were down and blocking our lane, we woke to see a family friend climbing through the downed trees and wires to come check on us and make sure we were okay. He had brought his entire family in the car with him and it was such a wonderful sight to see his friendly face wash over with relief as he saw us come out of the house to greet him. These same friends offered up their home as a place for us to do laundry, they had us over for dinner one night and allowed me to work out of their dining room, as I had no internet access at home. They offered some sense of normalcy in what was otherwise a crazy time.

We were also very blessed two days later when another family friend, who was also without power, offered to come over and use his chainsaw to cut away much of the big tree that had taken down the telephone pole, both of which were blocking our driveway. I was so touched at his kindness, my kids were thrilled to be able to play with his kids and, thanks to the generator we had, I was relieved to be able to offer them a warm meal and a hot shower.

There were many acts of kindness I saw or heard of during the aftermath of the hurricane. Despite the inconveniences, I was came out of our 12 days without power feeling very, very lucky.

 BP

 

My husband was able to use a saw on the tree that was blocking our driveway, but we had wires dangling from trees partially blocking our driveway and the road. Before DPW could even get to our house, a neighbor came on his back hoe and took care of it.

Also, my electrician was at our house an hour after we called him in order to re-attach the electrical mast that had been ripped from the house. He did this the day after the storm hit, so that whenever JCP&L got to our house, we would be ready for them.

We had a ski team meeting in the Poconos, and I asked anyone coming to the meeting if they would like to donate any supplies that I could bring back to NJ. My husband and I then dropped these off at Trinity United Methodist Church in Hackettstown.
PD

As I receive more stories of kindness received, I will post them here!  Feel free to add yours in the comments.

Hurricane Sandy

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Here we are, 10 days after the arrival of Hurricane Sandy.  We were warned for a week or more to prepare for the "storm of the century".  They told us to get flashlights, store water, get firewood, and tie down anything in the yard.  What the experts did not tell us was that there is no feasible way to prepare for what we have faced. 

To the casual observer, ten days without power is inconvenient, but not so bad.  After all, prior to the 1880's EVERYONE lived without electricity.  One should be able to get by with a fireplace, gas grill, lanterns, bottled water, food from a can, etc, right?  Well, experts, this is not 1879 when many homes had a fireplace in each bedroom, had a wood stove for heat and cooking, had a large kitchen fireplace with cast iron cooking pots, a well to get fresh water, and kerosene lanterns to light the home.

The reality in 2012 is this, as much as we followed the experts' advice, all of my stored water doesn't help the 19 year old girl, 17 year old girl, 14 year old boy and and 11 year old boy from Long Valley who lost their mom and dad the hurricane.  Their parents were driving a pickup truck home with the two boys sleeping in the back seat when a wind gust brought a 100' tree down on the cab, killing both the mother and father.  The 19 year old daughter is putting her college dreams on hold to care for her younger siblings.

To help this family, please check the link here:

http://www.wishuponahero.com/wishes/?id=1316547&fb_action_ids=4587602444642&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%224587602444642%22%3A406332256107290%7D&action_type_map=%7B%224587602444642%22%3A%22og.recommends%22%7D&action_ref_map

Perhaps our town doesn't look like Seaside Heights or Brick or Staten Island with the complete devastation found there, but it is NOT just a few trees down in yards here either.  All the carefully stacked firewood and rows of non-perishables did not help those who were forced to leave their homes in search of heat, laundry facilities and warm food.

Do you think this is only affecting wealthy families with vacation homes wiped off the face of the Jersey Shore?  I can assure you that there are many regular joes who left home for the mother-in-law's because they needed to sleep and shower and get back to work!  No one wants to leave their home in the aftermath of a super storm...they do it because they have young children and the night time temperatures are in the 20's!  They do it because gas to run generators is causing 2 hr waits and fights at the gas stations.  They do it because lack of ability to communicate (due to no Internet, no phones, no electric) in this rural area makes people feel isolated and alone.  They do it because if they don't work they don't get paid.  They do it because they are out of clean clothes to wear and clean dishes to use.

They are the lucky ones...some have no where to go and have to stick it out here.  Those who have generators aren't exactly living large either...some are only running refrigerators.  Many generators can only take the chill off the house, not heat it to a comfortable temperature.  Then there is the aforementioned trouble getting gas.  I shudder to think of conditions for those without generators!

If you are a Long Valley resident affected by the storm, my sympathies are with you.  The response by the power company is unacceptable, especially in light of last year's debacle with Irene.  We have demanded better and been promised better. 

If you are from another part of the country, please realize that the media coverage is missing many areas affected by the storm.  We may not have had flooding like the lower lying shore regions, however there are many still living with the consequences of this act of nature.