{Hurricane Sandy} Scenes from Recovering Hoboken

Hoboken is a beautiful town with a gorgeous waterfront overlooking the incredible NYC skyline & quaint side streets boasting wide, shady sidewalks lined by brownstones.  Beagle Bailey & I love to meander the side streets on a daily basis, admiring each street's unique personality, beauty & vibe.  These post-Sandy days, all the side streets share the same look & feel: disaster & recovery.

Two weeks after Hurricane Sandy flooded our streets with the Hudson River, Hoboken is still trying to get back on its feet.  The sidewalks are piled high with flood-damaged debris; as fast as the garbage trucks pick it up, another home or business adds its losses to make another giant pile.  I get the saddest when I spot children's toys or old photographs among the debris.  The streets are littered with flood-damaged cars marked with an ominous "X", a clear sign they are totaled & waiting to be towed.  We have one such car.  Disaster recovery teams with their bright orange trucks & hazmat gear are common sights.  I'm more likely to run into a disaster worker than an actual resident.  Telephone poles once stapled with For Sale condo flyers now display FEMA & other disaster-related information.  I barely recognize my hometown.

& yet.  Hope is flourishing & strength is palpable- that is the Hoboken I know & love!  Hobokenites are struggling but they refuse to give up.  People, whether it be a neighbor from next door or a stranger from Georgia, are pitching in to lend helping hands, kind words &/or generous donations.  It's pretty amazing.  I know when Hoboken's recovery is all said & done that I will never see the Hoboken I once knew again- it will be better than ever!

Hoboken is just one small town of many still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Sandy.  Please consider donating to the Rebuild Hoboken Relief Fund,  New Jersey Relief Fund or American Red Cross.  As always, thoughts & prayers are appreciated too!  Thank you so very much!!