Storm Sandy
Hi,
So my husband was in New Jersey the whole time while Sandy's storm was whirling in the north east.
I wasn't exactly thrilled.
Neither was he.
Neither were my kids.
But technology has its charm of bringing us together in a way we could have never shared experiences before. Husband FaceTimed the view from his window and showed us precisely what was going on outside. Needless to say, the view of 10+ trees, being pummeled by the wind, is enough to make your heart thump.
The only relief was the trees were blowing away from his sheet-of-glass window in the afternoon (in the distance, mind you). By evening they were being thrashed left and right and there was no telling where they'd fall - if they did.
Media, Social media and the news had enough info to keep us up to date in Atlanta. And when husband's TV conked off and power failed... I was able to keep him updated on what was happening outside. The power restarted for him with a generator's aid, but in bits and spurts.
This reminded me of living in Hong Kong. The number of tropical storms that would hit us every summer and smash the glass on buildings to smithereens. The destruction, chaos and mind-blowing cost to restore things after the storm... only to be hit by another, later.
The damage, no doubt, is huge. The destruction, massive. The time to restore - ahead. I'm hoping like all happy endings, the end of one storm will close this crisis and hopefully not open the doors for another ahead.
But even if another storm knocks again, there's no hurtling strong people to the ground. Fiction characters rise from destruction precisely because real people do.
So my husband was in New Jersey the whole time while Sandy's storm was whirling in the north east.
I wasn't exactly thrilled.
Neither was he.
Neither were my kids.
But technology has its charm of bringing us together in a way we could have never shared experiences before. Husband FaceTimed the view from his window and showed us precisely what was going on outside. Needless to say, the view of 10+ trees, being pummeled by the wind, is enough to make your heart thump.
The only relief was the trees were blowing away from his sheet-of-glass window in the afternoon (in the distance, mind you). By evening they were being thrashed left and right and there was no telling where they'd fall - if they did.
Media, Social media and the news had enough info to keep us up to date in Atlanta. And when husband's TV conked off and power failed... I was able to keep him updated on what was happening outside. The power restarted for him with a generator's aid, but in bits and spurts.
This reminded me of living in Hong Kong. The number of tropical storms that would hit us every summer and smash the glass on buildings to smithereens. The destruction, chaos and mind-blowing cost to restore things after the storm... only to be hit by another, later.
The damage, no doubt, is huge. The destruction, massive. The time to restore - ahead. I'm hoping like all happy endings, the end of one storm will close this crisis and hopefully not open the doors for another ahead.
But even if another storm knocks again, there's no hurtling strong people to the ground. Fiction characters rise from destruction precisely because real people do.
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Hi Susan,I'm glad you remember the time before email and Facetime as well... my kids don't believe life existed before then :) Thanks for your concern and husband is fine... airports closed for 3 days so he returns tomorrow. All offices are closed too so he's working from hotel.
But in HK storms were so frequent and TV / Radio was the best we had for updates, precautions, etc...and we actually listened and tuned in! Thanks for your comment and sharing with me :)
Interesting that you wrote about Hong Kong. Yesterday I often thought about the typhoons that blew into Hong Kong when I lived there. I always felt safe there and don't think my family even knew we were having a typhoon. Like when you were there, this was way before the internet and texting. I didn't even make international calls from HK because it was so expensive. By the time my snail mail letters arrived, all current events seemed like history!