Hurricane Sandy came ripping up the Eastern Seaboard this past weekend. Numerous homes from New York down to South Carolina were completely destroyed because of the high winds and even higher Water. Three storm cells merged on a full moon in the Atlantic Ocean and the rest is pretty much going down in history as one of the more devastating storms in the past 100 years. I find that outlook amusing, we so quickly forget how bad those along the Gulf got it during Katrina. It’s the fact that it happened in the North East that’s causing it to be such a media sensation.
From where I was – this wasn’t much of anything. We got very lucky here in Rehoboth. Yes, there’s quite a bit of property damage throughout the entire town but the complex that Sean and I live in, the only clean-up we’re doing is the leaves that were blown off the trees with a few small twigs. Things were much different on the South Bound side of Route-1 though. Dewey Beach down to Ocean City was pretty much one big flood zone (Note Dewey is only 1 mile south of me). If you know this area of Delaware, you’d know that once you start going South after Rehoboth the road goes from “Damn, look at all of these stores!” to “Wow! Take a look at those two huge bodies of water that we’re driving through on this thin four lane road!”. It’s not so awesome when that Bay and the Atlantic Ocean decide it’s time to merge and the only thing stopping it is a tiny road in the middle. The levels rose, and the rest is history. There was no roads in or out of this area of Delmarva and it left a pretty devastating aftermath to the numerous homes and businesses along the route whom are now pumping 4 feet of water out of their storefronts and basements.
We had no property damage here, not even a shingle taken off the roof. I almost feel guilty when I see the pictures of all of the devastation up in Long Island where my entire family is. My father said that there’s trees down everywhere, excessive flooding and power outages pretty much across the board. I told him, during our call, that I’m sitting here surfing the Internet because there’s been absolutely no issues down here other than the usual flooding that would occur with any substantial rain – or even a damn drizzle – in this area. He was then amused when I told him about the only drain in the entire complex.
Bella, like any unusual dog, decided that she would prefer to be outside in the wind and the rain instead of hanging out in the window (as she would prefer on nice warm sunny days). So I bundled us both up and took her for a walk around the complex so she could do her business. After a few hundred feet into our walk I noticed that I wasn’t just chugging along anymore and was actually starting to walk through – what I thought – was a fairly decent sized puddle. I didn’t think about it because I had my boots on, but as I turned to begin pulling us both towards the right side (away from said puddle) I then noticed that my dog – who hates water and has never swam a day in her life – is now doggy paddling towards the big hole in the ground. If she wasn’t on her leash she would have been somewhere floating in the Delaware sewer system right now. I pulled her to the street, she shook off and looked at me like “What the hell Mommy, why didn’t you warn me!” Needless to say, she got a nice warm bath when we got home and then sat in a blanket the rest of the night to warm up (this was Sunday – before the storm by the way).
The eye approaching us on Monday actually caused the rain to stop and the winds to pick up, we then had round two outside with the dog but I went in the other direction as far away from the drain as humanly possible. Of course this meant that every time she plopped her little butt down to squat she wound up getting blown over mid-piss but while she was frustrated I couldn’t help but laugh being as she was barking at the door to go out – making it completely her choice to deal with it! She needed a second bath to rid her of the effects of that one.
The “worst of the worse” was supposed to happen between 7pm and 12am on Monday. Yes, it got pretty windy here but after doing a drive around town today and comparing it to what we saw on Monday when taking stroll around the complex – we got close to nothing as damaging as predicted.
Numerous people did go to shelters, and there was A LOT of flooding along the shore. I’ll bet all those million dollar homes have quite a bit damage to them and at that point all I have to say is “Was the waterfront property even worth it?”, but that’s cause I’m middle class and wouldn’t ever spend the kind of money that millionaires spend if I had that unlimited-funds-debit-card myself.
The thing that pissed me off the worse, throughout all of this, is the POLITICS going on behind everything. I’m not someone who usually discusses them, mainly because I don’t care, but could the Republicans seriously come up with ANYONE better than Romney? To go on record and say “States can take care of themselves, don’t send FEMA”, or “Have everyone go to their second homes, they’re safer there” thinking that anyone who lives along the coastline is a multimillionaire, is the most fucking ignorant thing anyone could say. A few other “supporters” of him have also gone on record claiming that because of Gay Marriage – mother nature aka GOD is fighting back. Give me a damn break you biggott bitches. Even Honey Boo Boo isn’t that damn ignorant – and have you SEEN that show!?
I’m so over this election, I’m about to vote for Ms. Piggy and call it a day. She may be the epitome of Vanity but at least she’s consistant!