Superstorm Sandy
Our Family Returns to the 1920's
By Carole Kane
October 28 - a typical Sunday evening at our house in Central New Jersey. We sat together in the family room - my grandchildren Melanie, 15 and Gregg 18, intent on their respective electronic gadgets; my daughter Susie, son-in-law Glenn, and I watching news about the soon to arrive superstorm named "Sandy". (Nick was away at college.) Nala the Best Dog snoozed contentedly at Glenn's feet. I was worried about the next day's weather - should Glenn make the hour-plus drive to his office? Would the schools be closed? The forecast was for heavy winds, getting stronger as Monday progressed, and it might be okay going, but what about coming home?
On Monday, Glenn decided to go to work, but promised to come home early; schools were closed, so everyone else was safe at home. The weather didn't seem too bad for most of the day. We had plenty of food in the house, and enough water (we thought!). We were sure there were flashlights somewhere in the house. We put several bottles of water into the freezer in case the power failed, to help keep food cold. We secured 23 chairs, two tables, two umbrellas, the deck box, and all the cushions and pillows on the deck. We did two loads of laundry. At about 3:00 PM Glenn got home. He needed gas, but intended to fill-up closer to home, so he had passed the open gas stations along the way. He never did fill his tank. He figured he would do it tomorrow.
The weather began to worsen - very heavy winds, rain. On television, reporters warned that storm-hit areas could be without electricity for up to two weeks! But we were hoping that would not be us. Eventually we turned to a regular TV program, and the kids continued with their electronic amusements. It was already 8:30 pm on Monday night. By now we were pretty sure we would be spared.
But the storm got worse. High winds and slanting rain cut through the trees. At 9:00 PM the television went off! The computers died! The house phone was dead. Each of us grabbed our cell phones and tried to dial out, but they didn't work! We could find only one flashlight. Susie put several candles on the mantle, and the teens learned quickly how to handle them safely. But it was pretty dark. We turned to our only battery powered radio for storm updates.
The winds were howling ferociously. The huge old pine trees in the back began to bend. We could not see what was happening, but could smell pine, and thought that one of them may have snapped. Some wind gusts were so strong I worried the windows might break, but Glenn reassured me, the windows on this graceful, strong, brick house are specifically made to withstand such weather. Eventually we went to bed. Melanie was too scared to stay in her own room, and slept on the floor next to her parent's bed as the wind howled and raged relentlessly outside.
The next morning, I found Glenn pouring boiled water over coffee grounds in the dead electronic coffee-maker. My Hero! COFFEE! Outside, it was calm and misty-wet. The storm was over. Two huge pine trees had fallen and knocked out a large section of the back fence. A beautiful plum tree had been uprooted and landed on Susie's car in the driveway. More of the fence had been damaged by the wind. Many neighbors also had lost trees, and soon they were all outside with Glenn. One neighbor had a chain saw, and the men, along with many teenage sons and daughters, went from house to house, cutting and removing downed trees, piling the branches and logs on the street for pick-up. Meanwhile, Susie and I swept debris and leaves from the back deck and the garden paths. Our preparations with the deck furniture had worked! Nothing had broken or blown away. By noon it seemed like things were close to normal - just no electricity, and no heat. And then the faucets in the house stopped running! The pumps from our underground well were off. The water in the house system was nearly gone. We would need lots of bottled water to wash dishes and to fill the toilet tanks.
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Route 9 South in Freehold, NJ Thursday October 31
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Driving was dangerous, if not impossible. Traffic lights were out, and live wires, exploded transformers, and fallen trees littered the streets. A curfew was established in our county - no one allowed on the streets between 7PM and 7AM. No stores or gas stations were open. So we stayed home, and the rule was Don't Flush Unless Necessary! We poured bottled water into all the toilet tanks and hoped for the best. Our bottled water supply was quickly dwindling.
For dinner, I decided to make fried eggplant before the fresh veggies spoiled. I began at about 4:00 PM. The kitchen started getting darker and darker. Before I was done with all the pieces, I was cooking by candlelight and couldn't tell if I was burning them or if they were still raw. We used paper plates, but still had to wash pots and utensils, so we filled one huge basin with soapy (bottled) water, and another with clean water, and washed them in near darkness, the old fashioned way.
"What are we supposed to DO?" The kids were getting antsy. Electronics withdrawal. We gathered in the family room, and Glenn lit a fire in the fireplace. With several candles on the mantle and the kids sprawled on the floor, we all played "GHOST" - an old word game from my childhood. They loved it. I was the first one out, and I forget who finally won, but it didn't matter. We all enjoyed it. The dog slept peacefully in the corner. The radio played music in the background, and we heard updates on the storm's damage. It was the only contact we had with the outside world. Our phones still did not work. We went to bed around 9:30 PM.
On Wednesday, Susie, Mel and I ventured out to shop for necessities. The traffic lights were not working, and we drove past downed light poles, trees leaning on power lines, and other storm damage. We found an open supermarket and bought about 20 gallons of bottled water, moist towelettes, and snacks. There were no flashlights or fireplace logs to be had. No dairy or refrigerated products either. Back home, we poured more water into the toilet tanks and put a packet of the towelettes in each bathroom. Having learned from the day before, Susie started cooking at 3:00 pm to make use of the daylight and the barbecue grill.
Gregg and Mel went out on the deck and carved a pumpkin. We ate at 5:00 and afterwards kept the dirty dishwater to put into the toilets. I was beginning to envy the dog, who had her own private bathroom out in the backyard. But Nala was a little confused. Why wouldn't we let her play out in her backyard kingdom? We couldn't risk losing her through the broken fence.
Glenn's work cell phone came back to life and we were able to call and leave messages for our family. Wednesday night we entertained ourselves by making up a story, one person starting, the next continuing, until someone ended it. Gregg said it was the stupidest story he ever heard, but he was obviously enjoying himself. It was getting pretty cold in the house, and we went to bed again around 9:30 PM.
Glenn returned to work on Thursday. Service to all our cell phones returned that morning, and we again reached out to our family. All were okay, not much damage or inconvenience except the power outage. My brother and his wife lost an automobile and siding on their house in Staten Island, but they were fortunate - their surrounding neighborhood was completely devastated. His son and family had to evacuate their home in Lower Manhattan and were living uptown in a hotel for the duration. Most of us still had no electricity or heat.
On Thursday morning, it was really cold in the house. Susie and I sat with blankets and sweaters and read our books. Later we went shopping again, and found Shop Rite in Freehold open. Most of the aisles were pitch black, as they only had a generator for power. No refrigerated foods. No fireplace logs. No flashlights. We bought more water, an apple pie, Cheez-Its and a book for Melanie. Home again, Mel and Gregg said they could not wait any longer! They HAD to wash their hair! Susie prepared hot water and gave Mel a welcome shampoo at the kitchen sink. Then she did the same for Gregg. And she took pictures of them smiling happily with towels wrapped around their wet hair. I suddenly realized why, back in the old days, people had their bathtubs in the kitchen. You could heat the water and then fill the tub right there!
It would be getting dark soon. Dinner had to be started. I was getting tired of not having enough light, and no internet. I was cold. I was... BEEP! The smoke alarm went off! The whole kitchen lit up. Every light in the house came on! The Power was back!!! It was 3:30 PM. We high-fived each other! Susie called Glenn at work to tell him. We went all around the house, flushing toilets, hurray-ing and laughing. The kids immediately went to their electronic gadgets. I took a long, hot shower! Life was normal again!
Friday morning, the washer and dryer were chugging, the bathrooms were scrubbed, and lots of chores got done. I was feeling a bit silly for having bought so much water. There were cases all over the garage, the back deck, and in all the bathrooms. Around 3:30 PM Susie said she had to start dinner before the sun went down. Then we laughed at how fast we had fallen into new habits! Of course we didn't have to worry about that anymore.
At 5:30 PM the lights went out! The power was off again! Ah, jeez! But at least we were prepared. We knew how to use the candles, and how not to flush or use much water. At least our cell phones were still working. After dinner we settled into the family room for another semi-dark evening . We listened to a concert on the radio to raise money for the storm victims. We took bets on what day and time the power would come back on. Around 9:30 we all went upstairs to bed.
I put my laptop on, as it was still charged up, and as I was writing this, Mel won the bet. The power came back on again! Hurray! Back again in the 21st Century!
I hope...
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