That was the worst of it for me. My thoughts are with those who are suffering even as I type.
I found that even though I thought I had prepared, I would have been in some serious trouble if I had to go much longer without electricity.
I had charged my cell phones but by Tuesday midday they were on the verge of dying. I went to the car to charge them and found that I had less than a quarter tank of gas. I should have topped up on Saturday when I was out. I set out to find gas and ended up three towns over and now I was using up reserves. That was one of the scariest moment of the whole two days. I saw myself stranded with no way of getting gas and with no lights around. I finally found an open gas station which claimed that they only had super (yeah, right!) and it was 4.29 per gallon. I wasn't about to complain; I eagerly joined the line and prayed that there would be enough left for me...and those behind me.
For some odd reason, my thermos of hot water was tepid by Tuesday morning. Not to worry, tepid coffee is better than no coffee. My candles quickly burned down the middle and I had to remake them in the mornings. By Tuesday morning the rechargeable D batteries I had bought for one of my flashlights were dead. And, you guessed it, no way to recharge! Clearly I hadn't thought about that. LOL.
The biggest eye-opener was finding that reading because there is nothing - nothing! ;) - else to do is not quite as enjoyable as I had anticipated. I hated the food I had bought, especially the boneless, skinless sardines. Ugh!
CBS News became my bosom buddy. Buying the transistor radio was the best thing I did.
CBS News purports to serve the tri-state area of NJ, NY and CT. Even though they seem to favor New Jersey it was such a refreshing change to get news rather than partisan spin.
It was inspiring to hear of politicians doing what politicians should be doing. I have new respect and admiration for President Obama, Dan Malloy, Chris Christie (even though I think he need not have dumped all over Mayor Lorenzo Langford the way he did) and Mayor Bloomberg. I do not know when they found time to sleep. They deserve to be applauded. Andrew Cuomo, even though he seemed to have been largely missing in action, had one of the best quotes I heard over the last 72 hours:
Said that it's not "a political statement" but that it's "a factual statement" that climate change is real and that "Anyone who says there is not a change in weather patterns is denying reality."By Monday midnight the reports of those who had lost their lives started rolling in. It became immediately apparent that people were losing their lives mainly from trees falling on them, trees falling on their cars, trees falling on their houses. Heartbreaking.
I think that there is something serious happening in the transplanting of trees, especially in urban and suburban areas.
I went and looked at some of the uprooted trees in my neighborhood and found that most of them have roots that seem to be inadequate to the task of keep these massive trunks upright. See pics above.
That tree, the owner told me, was over twenty years old. The electric company had cut down others in his yard and deemed that one strong enough stay. As it turned out, it fell on the power lines and may have contributed to them losing power in that area.
This I found on http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/...
A few woody support roots grow downward and outward to anchor the tree in place. Most trees do not have a deep tap root. While a tap root may develop on trees growing in the woods in well-drained soils, they generally do not develop on trees transplanted into the landscape or on trees grown in compacted or poorly drained soil.
I am not a scientist but I think that there is clearly some need for some body/organization to look into what is happening here. Some 62 people dead and at least a third of them killed by trees.
Thank you to all those who kept me in their thoughts over the last couple days. I am humbled.
RIP to all those who lost their lives. Condolences to their families and loved ones.
Waves of positive energy to those who are dealing with the after effects of Sandy's visit.
I leave you with a video of my president showing just why he deserves at least four more years: