Seven days ago my town got hard hit by Hurricane Sandy. Many lives and homes in the New York and New Jersey area were lost, but luckily my house and those of my friends and family came off with minimal damage. Since the storm it has been a scary few days full of no power, no heat, and lines for gas and food. Here are some photos of the damage:
A large tree fell cutting of my parents house from exiting the neighborhood on one end, it also took down the poles and transformers.
One of the main roads entirely closed down due to damage.
A tree took town the power lines at the end of my road, it still hasn’t been repaired.
That isn’t traffic, that is a line for gas. People have resorted to violence, looting, and sleeping in the lines in order to get gas.
Unfortunately even today my house it still without power, and I am now writing this at the library. For hours you could see the transformers exploding through out town so the lack of power is something that isn’t unexpected. It was indeed a frightening experience, and it still is. I was able to take a brief respite up to New Hampshire for the weekend where I took a great hike and experienced some wonderful gluten free foods, including one of my favorite restaurants ever Tavern 27 which I reviewed in the past. I was able to escape the food and gas shortages and cold house for awhile, but I am now back and trying to figure out how to continue my ‘normal life’ without power and now, with limited food. I am grateful for all that I have and for being alive when so many lost everything, but as someone with a disease that requires control this has been a frightening situation. I took left overs back from New Hampshire, only to have them destroyed by melting ice in the cooler over night. I have been using the grill to cook, as you can see to the left, and this has been working out quite well. But at this point, I am running out of ideas and out of food. A shopping trip today resulted in limited food and I suppose I’ll have to crack open the canned goods soon. While this is disheartening I know that things will readjust themselves soon and the power will hopefully come back on shortly. I am one of the lucky ones and for that I am grateful, although the current frustrations are difficult to endure.
How have you fared with the storm? Were you impacted? If so, what are you doing to cope mentally, physically, or in terms of food?
Celtic Celiac @ http://celtic-celiac.blogspot.com/