829 Southdrive

829 Southdrive

A New Jersey state of mind



Tuesday, October 30, 2012

There Were Houses There


From the Mantoloking Bridge, facing East.  You could always just see
the horizon from this vantage point; forever, there had been three layers
of houses between the beach and the bayside.  This is an image I find
very hard to come to terms with.  It's like a vision of my childhood
has been erased.   Unimaginable.


We kept ourselves busy today by cleaning up all the leaves tracked in
the house by our wet shoes and bare feet from going back and forth 
to the garage and generator, and we spent a good deal of the 
afternoon picking up twigs, branches, and roof shingles that had 
been blown about our yard last night.  We also agreed that it was 
time for all of the patio furniture to be put away, and the snow-
blower to be positioned facing 'out' in the garage.  It was a good 
distraction from sitting inside all day watching the unfolding 
devastation on local news channels. Several times I caught my wife 
going for the tissues, having been overcome with emotion after 
watching piece after piece on one shore town after another, 
brutally dismantled by Hurricane Sandy. 

I walked around as usual today, snapping photos of my yard and
composing witty captions in my mind for each, hoping that when 
I got inside, I'd not forget them.  These would form another
 'aftermath' post, showing what the Jersey folks endured the night 
before.  No image that I got today came close to the above photograph.

We escaped unscathed, compared to the people living on the coast.
We lost power for less than twelve hours, and it never rained hard
enough to worry about the sump pumps, although I was ready to
hook them up.  In a way I feel like we should have had a tougher
go of it, seeing what the shore-dwellers will be dealing with for 
weeks and months to come.  I still don't quite realize the scope of it.  
   

8 comments:

  1. I'm kind of at a loss for words. glad you and your family are okay. feel horrible for those who've suffered the brunt of the damage. stay safe.

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  2. The pictures of devastation on the NJ shore are amazing. I can't imagine how long it will take to restore all that has been lost, or if that can even be contemplated.

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  3. I haven't gone to take a look at my house on Brigantine (the police are still denying access to most of the barrier islands and many roads are impassable even if they weren't) but I'm hopefully that we got off lightly as we did here in Maryland. We shall see. Probably we'll get a look either tomorrow or Friday.

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  4. I'm so sorry, Baydog. I knew you were close, just not how close. I'm glad that you both came out of it okay. Stay safe!

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  5. There is an aerial view of the same place here. Looks like it was only the houses directly in front of the bridge that were totally wiped out.

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  6. It is right to mourn for all that was lost, the happiness that was part of so many people's lives on the coast now no more than memories. Houses, boats, and clubhouses may be just things, but they are things that shelter us, let us gather with friends, and explore new horizons. So much is lost. Some can be rebuilt; but some can never.

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  7. It's quite terrifying the devastation caused by Sandy. Glad you are safe

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  8. This natural tragedy humbles all Americans. It reminds us that it could happen to any of us. We must all pull together and not leave anyone behind. Mourn the casualties. Repair, restore and recover. The tunnel is temporary; the light at the end is permanent.

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