21 days since Sandy

21 days since we at the jersey shore got a taste of hell. Can't believe its been that long, days seem to run into nights which run back into days and over again. Neighborhood is starting to look somewhat normal again from the outside....all the trash and debris that lined each street and stood tall in front of all the homes is slowly being picked up by outside contractors, bulldozers, tandem dum p trucks and front end loaders. wires are all back up, people are salvaging what they can of their 'stuff' that ended up over in the woods, rubermaid containers, dock boxes, planters, tables and chairs... No longer do we hear the hum of generators, replaced by the sound of nail guns, hammering and air compressors...contractor trucks outside of virtually every home save for a few which haven't even been opened up yet...While everything looks normal on some streets, just open a door to any home in the neighborhood, most are missing all their flooring and sheetrock up four feet on their first floors, open walls with all the electrical wiring exposed...the most common phrase heard these days is "our adjuster is coming out today" we have all had three, homeowners, flood and FEMA....

While it is starting to look more normal in my neighborhood, all one has to do is venture a little further down Drum Point Rd to see the homes still sitting off their foundations, openings created on side walls and garages that did not exist before, boats still over turned in the water or laying on their sides on land....

I have been getting frustrated that I still do not have heat and hot water, then i think about those who don't have a first floor, a home and all their belongings including those things that become sacred as they make their journey through life with them such as photos, gifts from loved ones and the like...gone....I lost a very few items that can not be replaced but i know how i felt as i pulled them out of wet boxes, i just cant imagine losing it all....

I truly hope we don't see another one of these for another 500 years...