The Aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

Cleaning Up After the Storm

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”

                                              Charles Darwin

I used to make fun of my mother for watching the weather channel. She would put it on in the morning to check the weather instead of looking out the window, and then forget to turn it off. It would cycle in a maddening, monotonous loop all day long. I thought of her yesterday when I was glued to the weather—watching Hurricane Sandy bring its one-thousand-mile-wide swath of destruction ashore in our most densely populated cities.

Having lived through more than one nor'easter myself, I know what destruction they bring. Even in summer, they are overwhelming. The rain comes in drops big enough to bruise your skin, and flies horizontal before wind that can absolutely knock you down. They are nothing to be out in even when they aren't backed by hurricane-force wind and full-moon high tide.

This morning mayors and governors and all manner of folks will survey the damage and begin the drudgery of clean up. Once again, armies of utility workers from all across the nation will make their way to the east coast to restore power to the more than six million who are in the dark. Twenty-one crews left Birmingham last night to give back a little of what was given to us when the swath of tornadoes wiped out thousands of homes and livelihoods here.

America is best when challenged to come together in support of her own. We adapt quickly. Neighbor helps neighbor, and total strangers put their shoulders into disentangling the mess and working out solutions to difficult problems. Men with chainsaws simply show up and cut trees off the cars and houses of people they've never seen before. Guys with small boats rescue old ladies and pets from flooded streets and houses. Others push grills into the streets and cook for the work crews. Those of us who are far from the damage watch, and pray, and cry, and cheer. We Americans are heroic in our concern for one another. I wonder why it takes a natural disaster to bring us to this point.

                                            In the spirit,

                                               Jane