Thoughts on Hurricane Sandy

This week much of the U.S. has been hit by a weather system referred to as Hurricane Sandy.  It's been, as many have called it, the storm of the century.  A storm out of the southern tropics that has come north to mix with a Noreaster along with high tides from a full moon.  It brought devastating flooding, and several deaths, to much of the East Coast and many adjoining inland states.  It's also the first time in record keeping history we can say that a blizzard has been caused by a hurricane, where parts of West Virginia and Virginia are being covered in up to 2-3 feet of snow.

I personally want to say a huge thank you to all the first responders (police, firefighters, medical personnel, utility workers, etc.) & military personnel that have been working so hard to make sure people are safe during this terrible time.  It's a truly selfless act to put others before yourself during times like this.

And for those of you that ignored evacuation orders because you thought you'd be OK and then had to be rescued...considering most communities won't bill you for the cost of those first responders, I hope you feel like an ass and realize you've jeopardized other people's lives.  People that thought about YOU before they thought about themselves.  Do something to make up for it.  Help clean up your neighborhood.  Yes, your neighborhood, not just your own house.  Sign up to volunteer with the Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc.  Do SOMETHING to make amends and pay it forward. 

Sorry, I digressed.  Getting down off my soap box and moving on.

Here in N.E. Ohio we were lucky with just some localized flooding and power outages brought on by heavy rains and strong winds, which we're still experiencing.  I watched on the live news last night as people were driving to the shores of Lake Erie to see in person the waves caused by Sandy. I wanted to share a picture with you of the waves crashing onto I-90 (along with several other pics), but it appears Blogger is having issues this morning.  



I personally spent yesterday hunkered down at my house keeping dry & warm.  I cross stitched another ornament for my shop made a new chicken recipe, called Chicken in Beer, from Lidia's Italy.  The house smelled wonderful while it was cooking and the chicken was so juicy & yummy!  Max survived several trips outside in the wind & rain.  As the winds were getting stronger throughout the night it made him nervous to the point he was continually pacing the house (something Lobo used to do).  Thankfully he finally settled down about 1:00am and went to sleep.  I worry about him constantly the older he gets (he's now around 15) and do everything I can to comfort and protect him.




I'm thankful all my friends and family appear to be safe and hope there are not any more deaths related to the hurricane.  We're a strong nation and it's times like this people pull together to rebuild.  I know it's the election season, and this has been a brutal mud-slinging one, but please put politics aside and think of the victims not as republicans or democrats, but as human beings that are in need of assistance.  It's amazing what helping others can do for the soul. 
 
~K.