Sandy in pictures

The Star Ledger, which only published online yesterday, since its offices were moved three times as they were flooded and lost power, came out with a special paper edition today.  I notice that they never credit the newspaper carriers with the heroism of actually delivering the paper today, so I hereby do.

Clearly the writers had a pent up need for dramatic newspaper pictures and prose,nonetheless, they did a good job of showing readers from other parts of the state what they hadn't been able to know about before.  If you lose power, you don't have television, and many people lost phone service, internet access, and cell service, too.  Handsome Son still has no landline phone service, intermittent cell service, but we have been emailing when I had a wireless signal, which was now and then. He's fine, as is the elderly neighbor he kept an eye on.  And, aside from minor damage to a chimney, so am I.

I notice that the newspaper still carried a sales insert, though!  Sandy can't beat Kohl,I guess.  It's ironic that the people in the teeth of the storm had less information that people on the other side of the globe who were able to see maps and information and pix on television and online.

We are warned to conserve water now, since a lot of the pumping stations are running only on generators, which may lose power before mains are restored.  I will do my bit by failing to do my laundry.  Nearby Princeton is pretty much a war zone, 80 per cent of people with no power, many roads closed with fallen trees and wires, almost no traffic lights at intersections, my friends incommunicado, no phones, no power, no way for us to reach each other.  I just pray they're all okay. Sad news in the paper, an acquaintance killed by a falling tree at his home. 

The newspaper pictures included this one, of the street I drive down to the labyrinth.

I've become acquainted with all the emergency communication sites to try to keep up with local conditions, mainly which roads are closed, which is a lot of them. I noticed a lot of cars passing the end of my street on the road which takes you  from one town to another, and discovered that it's practically the only open one, and I wonder how far they can get before they meet barriers.

Today I don't know how I feel.  Relief from great anxiety, sadness over the losses, gratitude for all the friends and acquaintances making sure I'm okay,  great mix of emotions.  HS is coming for dinner tonight, since our restaurant plans, made before the storm, seem less doable now, and he lives close enough that the roads are safe between there and here.  It will be good to have his company.