What a week it has been. Has it only been slightly more than a week since I was here? As you might imagine I have a few things to say and more than a few things to do, so it's gonna have to be a list here on this side of the pond today.
1. For starters, if you're here looking for questions to Hodgepodge 101, my apologies. I'm going to need to postpone Vol 101 until next week because we had a hurricane, no power for a week, traveled to Tennessee and back getting home late last night, need to elect a new President today, and there's more but I think you get the idea. I have only just begun reading the links from last week so check back here next Tuesday (Nov 13th) for Hodgepodge Vol 101.
2. The hurricane. It was scary. We have a forest full of super tall trees behind our house and did you know tall trees can bend all the way to the ground without breaking? They can, but you hold your breath with every swoosh of the wind thinking this is the one that's going to snap one in two.
3. The wind. Quite literally it sounded like a freight train barreling right thru the middle of our house. It was a long night. Add to that waking to the sound of our dog barfing at 2:30 am and it was a
very long night. The house was pitch black, the wind had not lessened one iota, and the windows were still rattling. Nerves were still pretty shaky too.
4. We were very lucky. Our brand new landscaping stayed put and while we had many sticks and branches to pick up, no big trees came through our roof. We did have some damage to our gable which is cosmetic in nature, but our roofer has already been in touch to organize that repair.
5. Our power went out a week ago Monday and was finally restored sometime late on Saturday. It's amazing how much we take for granted things like a warm house and a hot shower, light at the flick of a switch, and unspoiled food in a cold frig. As various parts of the community had power restored, churches and gyms opened up to offer showers and coffee and the ability to feed our electronic addiction. We charged our phones and ipads via the car for several days, but mostly stayed off line to conserve precious battery power.
6. Because of all the ginormous and deep rock in the ground here, there are still a lot of overhead power lines in this part of the state, many of which are still down. A number of roads are still impassable and schools in our tiny town have yet to reopen.
7. I keep things mostly light hearted here, but you cannot turn on the television or the computer without seeing photographs of the tremendous damage Sandy wrought, or hearing stories of lives devastated by her power and wrath. People often make fun of the 'Jersey Shore' because all they know is what they've seen courtesy of bad reality programming, but it's a place many call home. It's also a place people have gone summer after summer to put their toes in the sand, to reunite with family, and to hang with friends at favorite and familiar local spots. Much of what generations of Jersey-ans have loved for eons vanished in a gust of wind and a tide that burst its boundary. The actual geography of the Jersey shore has been changed by Sandy.
8. It's cold here. In fact we woke up to frost on our back hillside this morning and a winter storm is heading our way on Wednesday. There are tens of thousands of people displaced...homeless...begging for heat and help and hope. If you are able please consider making a donation to one of the many reputable organizations helping with relief efforts.
The Red Cross,
The Salvation Army, and
Samaritans Purse are three that are legitimate, organized, and doing their best to bring relief and comfort to those devastated by the storm.
9. On Thursday night hubs and I boarded a plane bound for Tennessee. We'd booked this long weekend away months ago, a trip back to collegetown for a homecoming gathering with old friends and a side trek before and after to visit his parents who live a couple of hours from our university. While it felt more than a little funny to be leaving the house sans power it felt awesome to climb into a warm bed in a heated hotel room four nights in a row. I have some pictures but I also have an issue with my camera so I think I'll save talking about TN for a separate post.
10. One of the biggest issues we face up here right now is petrol, or rather the lack thereof. Some stations are still without power and those stations
with power have no fuel. Due to the ridiculously long lines resulting in rising tempers and confrontations, combined with the lack of product, our governor instituted rationing 1970's style. You may buy fuel only on an odd or even day, depending on the last number in your car tag. Our cars are both even numbered which meant that we landed back in NJ yesterday, but were not permitted to buy gas. Hubs had enough in his car to get us home, but mine was on fumes. Gas has become like gold up here so we put out feelers and friends let me know who was expecting a delivery. Last night, after a busy weekend and a long day of travel, hubs left the house at 12:01 AM to fill up his car, came home, got mine and filled it too. Yay hubs! And yay friends who helped us find a station!
11. Today is a big day in America. People are distracted in our neck of the woods by things like surviving. So many have had their lives turned upside down by the hurricane that the last thing they're thinking about today is getting out to vote. Most of America though has no excuse. I feel very strongly about this particular election and encourage you to get out and cast your ballot today. It is our right, our privilege, and our duty as citizens of a still free country.
12. For the most part I steer clear of politics on my blog, but not today. I want it to be known that I am
not voting out of revenge. I don't even understand what that means and find it completely insulting, not to mention divisive.
Out of all the many reasons I will
not be voting to re-elect our current President, his discourse is right up there near the top of the list. I am so hugely disappointed and disgusted to say to my children that the President of the United States is
not someone I can hold up as an example. Not in how to dialogue with people with whom you disagree. Not in how to interact with people who have legitimate questions about decisions you make that affect
their lives and
their country and
their future. Not in how to speak to an audience (
all of America) which is diverse not only in ethnicity, but also in what it holds dear.
Our President is an ivy-league educated man, supposedly brilliant, and he shows unbridled contempt for at least half of the people of this nation.
You are free to disagree with me and I know many do. In fact some will likely stop reading here and that makes me sad. America seems to have lost its ability, and seemingly its
will, for friendly disagreement.
I encourage you to cast your vote today for whomever your own conscience dictates. This is America and for now speech is still free.
While I often feel that keeping quiet keeps the peace today I'm tired, and I don't feel like keeping quiet. When I cast my vote today I will think of my daughter entering the field of public education which now expects its people to support a particular political agenda or be ostracized. I will think of the long hours and exhausting schedule my husband keeps, of how hard he has worked all of our married life to support his family and to plan for the future and to pay our bills. Those bills include an absolutely obscene amount of taxes and I will be very aware of the ridiculously large check I sent just today to cover
still more taxes. I will think of two very expensive college educations paid for entirely by us through forethought, savings, and hard work...by the choices and sacrifices we made in the immediate in order to be as prepared as we could be for the future. I will think of my new health insurance premium for the coming year and the dramatic increase in cost for the same service we have always had.
I will think especially of two Navy Seals who lost their lives defending an embassy and an Ambassador, and a country they loved. Who gave no thought whatsoever to politics when they charged into the fray, and whose families still weep without answers.
I hope today no American takes for granted the privilege that is ours. People have died protecting and defending that privilege. Let's not take it lightly. Get out and vote.
