I’m a Jersey Girl, tough….and then again not so much! In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy I am both grateful and sad. I’m grateful I’m safe, for all of my friends, and for all I have, sad for what’s been lost.

As Hurricane Sandy was happening my laptop still had some power, so as a way to relieve my nerves, I began to document what was going on as the storm hit. As I re-read what I wrote I realize my experience was NOTHING compared to what some folks in New York and New Jersey went through and are still going through. I didn’t lose my car, my house, or worse my life.

All I suffered was the minor inconveinence of losing power and heat. An inconvenience hardly worth complaining about.
Without power I did not have access to the graphic TV reports about NY and NJ that people around the world did. I didn’t see the destruction until now, a few days later. It’s only now that I am able to be online and see the messages of, “Are you safe and OK?” and I’m able to see just how bad this storm was, and that I feel the impact.

My “Jersey” will come out now, but there is no other expression that fits how I feel as well….
WTF?? Hurricane Sandy was one f**ked up storm!!

 I feel a certain shock, sadness, and grief when I see images of the Jersey Shore. I just spent a wonderful summer vacation in Seaside Park, and rode that roller coaster that now sits crumbled in the ocean. This recent summer I walked along that Boardwalk that is now gone.

I walked along that Boardwalk many summers growing up. Rented beach houses. Met my friends at the Midway.  I played the games, and bought waffles and icecream, and salt water taffy. The Jersey Shore has been a part of me…

All of us North Jersey people joked about being called “Bennies” by South Jersey locals, but come Memorial Day Weekend we couldn’t wait to take a trip to the Jersey Shore. Whether I am a Benny or not seems trivial.

I’m in my forties now, and we still had impromtu highschool reunions at the Tiki Bar and and at Jenkinsons. In late Septemeber the weather was still warm, my friends and I met for drinks so we could take one last look at the ocean for the season.

It is so sad to see it all destroyed. I feel a certain sense of grief, like at a funeral. In a way it feels similar to how I felt to see the World Trade Center gone from the NY Skyline for the first time. It’s a sense of loss, something now gone that has always been here since my childhood. I’ve had spontaneous outburst of tears, and I let them flow.

I hear Governor Christie say we will rebuild, and I do believe this to be true. We are Jersey Girls and Guys, we’re tough, we hang in there,  and we will come together…

For right now collectively we try to get back to normal. Many are faced with, “What do I do next?”  There is still some chaos, traffic, gas shortages, and those  without power. This too, I know will pass and life will move forward.

I’m proud to be a Jersey girl…