Mother Nature Hath No Fury Like Sandy

Hurricane Sandy slams the New Jersey coast
(photo from The Star Ledger)

A colossal, stormy monster left a path of devastation in her wake in late October. Hurricane Sandy, dubbed "Frankenstorm" for the monstrous size and scope of the storm coming right before the Halloween holiday, raged like a tempestuous monster along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States after causing substantial damage in the Caribbean.


The National Hurricane Center described Sandy as "the largest Atlantic hurricane in diameter on record." This superstorm destroyed lives and demolished thousands of homes and businesses with the worst impact felt in New Jersey, especially along the Jersey shore where famed boardwalks and long-standing tourist attractions suffered severe damage, and in New York City. It will take years, maybe decades, for some places to recover. The losses are heartbreaking! There is no way to control the magnitude of such a force of nature.

National Hurricane Center image of the massive size and scope
of Hurricane Sandy along the U.S. East Coast

Before and After Hurricane Sandy, Seaside Heights, New Jersey...stunning! 
(photo from yahoo news)

Although Hurricane Sandy pounded my area for two days with howling winds and torrential rains, we were not in the direct path of the hurricane that devastated my home state of New Jersey. My husband and I live in Maryland and our area was spared the full force of the storm. We had much more in the way of damage from the fast-moving, violent (and very unusual for this area) "derecho storm" back in June, so Mother Nature gave us a break this time.

OK, brief pause here...Since my blog name is JerseyLil, you'd think I'd already be in New Jersey...Well, not quite! I was born and raised in New Jersey but moved to California by myself in my late 20s. After a few years, I met my husband there and eventually we moved from California to DC to Maryland. Even after all the moving, I am still a Jersey Girl at heart!

How My Blog Got Its Name

Back to Hurricane Sandy news...

Parts of Maryland did get slammed by Sandy. A large, historic fishing pier at Ocean City, Maryland, that had withstood hurricanes for a century, was badly damaged, 100 feet of it wiped out as sections went crumbling into the ocean...and at that point, the storm was still 300 miles away offshore!

Huge waves batter famous fishing pier at Ocean City, Maryland. 100 ft. will crumble into the sea.
(photo from yahoo news)

Since we don't live in a coastal area, we did not sustain major damage from this storm, just lots of yard cleanup, battered shrubs...and nervous dogs! Just imagine if you were a dog and had to go outside to do your business in that kind of weather! Both Roscoe and Coco gave me a look that said, "You have got to be kidding me!" Well, I tried to find a little break in the pouring rain and howling winds before opening the door to let them out (OK, a bit of coaxing was required...lol!). My husband and I even put on our rain jackets and stood out on the patio while they were in the yard to show our support (and make sure they didn't just run back in...well, who could blame them!...before taking care of business). After coming in and getting toweled off (all of us), extra treats for the dogs, wine and chocolate for us!

Then we were glued to the TV set, watching the unbelievable destruction of this massive storm.

"Never seen anything like this!" CNN's Anderson Cooper gets plummeted by strong waves and winds October 29, 2012, at Asbury Park, New Jersey, as Hurricane Sandy makes landfall.

Sandy saved her biggest punch for my home state of New Jersey! The hurricane slammed onshore at southern New Jersey on October 29, 2012, with driving rains and gale force winds over 85 mph, hitting in the evening at high tide, causing huge tidal surges, the largest ever recorded in some places! The storm hit with a vengeance, decimating the beautiful Jersey shore, flooding cities all across the state, shutting down all rail and transportation, causing shock, major damage, and loss of lives in the worst storm to hit New Jersey in over 100 years! Perhaps the worst storm ever to hit the area.

Sandy's Devastation October 31, 2012. Brief emotional interview with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie followed by stunningly sad aerial images of the Jersey shore after Hurricane Sandy. My heart breaks for my New Jersey!

"The Jersey Shore of my youth is gone...we will rebuild the Shore. It may not be the same, but we will rebuild." New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. 

My compliments to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for his leadership and compassion during this crisis.

Sandy's wrath of damaging winds and rain, combined with a full moon and high tide, also slammed New York City and Long Island, causing the worst disaster New York City has ever seen outside of 9/11, with flooded streets and subways, fires, death and destruction. In the neighborhood of Breezy Point in Queens, New York, over 100 homes burned to the ground when the force of Sandy's winds caused a huge, raging fire. Many of these homes belonged to the families of firefighters and first responders. Heartbreaking!

"It looks like a war zone!" quote from a Breezy Point, New York resident.

Breezy Point, New York, over 100 homes destroyed by fire when Hurricane Sandy hit.
(Reuters file photo from Wiki images)

The entire region was in a state of shock, millions without electricity for weeks, hundreds living in temporary shelters (and some with no homes to return to), and long gas lines. In New Jersey alone, over 73,000 homes and businesses were destroyed! Luckily, my relatives in New Jersey are OK and safe, although they sustained some damage to their homes and were without power for over a week.

Damage at my brother's home in Central New Jersey.

The big tree (actually from a neighbor's yard) fell against the house, taking down the awning and gutters and damaging the side of the house, but luckily, it did not fall directly on the house and no one was injured.

This superstorm was so unusual and especially frightening because most hurricanes hitting the U.S. East Coast approach from the southern direction, so Northeastern coastal cities, while impacted, rarely feel the full force of the onslaught (unlike the storms they get in New Orleans, such as the terrible destruction they had with Hurricane Katrina in 2005). Hurricane Sandy, already the largest hurricane in diameter on record before it even approached the Northeast, took a highly unusual sharp left turn toward land at the U.S. coast with the eye making landfall at high tide and a full moon. The "perfect storm" and a perfect nightmare!   

New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at a Benefit for victims of Hurricane Sandy.

There is more than human cost to this tragedy. Many pets were lost or displaced as well. Here is a link to a heartwarming story in The Courier News about a New Jersey farm caring for pets displaced by Hurricane Sandy.

New Jersey farm harbors pets displaced by Superstorm Sandy

"There will be a few days of sorrow but then New Jerseyans will say the hell with it, let's get back to work." New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

New Jerseyans and New Yorkers are tough. We may be down but we are never out! We can still hope and we can still dream. And while I may not be in my home state of New Jersey right now, my heart is with everyone there!

©2012 JerseyLil’s 2 Cents 

Memories of Dad

Thirty-two years ago, my father passed away on a cold day in March, and I still miss him. On this Father’s Day, I’d like to share some memories of him.

With my Dad when I was just a wee one! In New Brunswick, New Jersey.

My father, George, was thirteen years older than my mother and so came from a different generation. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island, back when Model-T’s shared the streets with horses and everybody knew their neighbor. His father (James) owned a butcher shop and had English roots in New England dating back to Colonial times. His mother (Madeline) was the daughter of Irish and Portuguese immigrants. (Sadly, my siblings and I never met our paternal grandparents, Madeline and James. Both died within three month of each other, long before we were born).  Aunt Agnes (my father’s younger sister) would tell us that their mother called George “the salt of the earth.” I like that! And as far as I’m concerned, my Dad was “the salt of the earth.”

The middle one of three children, Dad had wonderful memories of his childhood. He enjoyed playing baseball, had a paper route, and relished the times he would go down to the Providence River, clam-digging with his older brother, Bill (Dad made a mean clam chowder!). He loved movies and would save the money he made from his paper route to go to Saturday afternoon picture shows. He remembered when silent films became talkies, and was a fan of Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin. Because he was older than our playmates’ fathers, he had stories from a different era and his stories were captivating. His family home in Providence was across the street from where the acclaimed songwriter and entertainer, George M. Cohan, once lived. (George M. Cohan was famous for such early 20^th-century songs as “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” “Over There,” “I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy,” and “Give My Regards to Broadway.”) Now you get the picture of my father’s childhood. 

Dad when he was young (by car, hat in hand) with his parents and sister.
Providence, Rhode Island.

My father grew up in the Depression, served in the Rhode Island National Guard and later served in World War II. He met my mother, Carmela, in New Jersey, right after the war when my mother's brother, Uncle Ernie, who was serving with my father in the Army, arranged a date for them. My father was more than a decade older than my mother and he said it was love at first sight when he met her. He wrote beautiful love letters to her. He even recorded a love song for her at one of those music booths at the shore when they honeymooned in Atlantic City. He had no idea of my mother's bipolar illness (her family was not about to tell him and they were in denial themselves, as it turns out); he had no idea of what was later to come. The marriage vows of "for better or worse" were vows he took very seriously, and he never once abandoned my mother, even in her most difficult hours when she was rejecting him for others, and refusing to take her medications. About two and a half years after giving birth to my youngest brother, my mother was hospitalized for a nervous breakdown, my siblings and I were sent to an orphanage and foster care. Our family life was fractured, never to be whole again. The series of events broke my father's heart. But that story is for another time. This story is to celebrate Dad's life.

Mom and Dad (before I was a twinkle in their eyes).

Five years after they were married, my parents had me, then my three sisters and two younger brothers. Dad loved having a family. I learned to read at an early age because he read picture books to us every night. By the time I got to first grade, because of all that reading, I was already at third grade reading level. Story time at night was one of my best memories! That along with all the Irish lullabies he would sing to us in his baritone voice, the same tunes his mother sang to him when he was a child. If I close my eyes, I can still hear him sing, “Tura-Lura-Lura.”

And so I’ll close this post with “That’s an Irish Lullaby” for my Dad. Hope you’ll listen, it’s a lovely song. Happy Father’s Day!

All text and photos ©2012 JerseyLil’s 2 Cents.