It's so nice to have power and internet back after a 47 hour absence. Super Storm Sandy did not hurt us here along the Hudson River.  When I see the images and hear the stories of others' loss, I feel so fortunate to have only suffered a limb through the roof of my old shed and a loss of power.  Still,  I feel news deprived.  I am having a difficult time understanding the damage done in New Jersey and around the city.   And, frankly, I am surprised to see so many people trying to get to work in the city.

One of the best parts about NYC is its public transportation.  Sure there are massive gridlock days, but people rely on mass transit.  In its absence, however, a mess ensues.  Do these people really need to get to work?  Or are they doing it because they can?  In this day and age, many of us can do our job -- theoretically -- from home.  Schools, obviously, cannot.  Nor can hospitals.  But where are these people going?  And why are so many not heeding the HOV rule?  As if traffic wasn't messed up enough, now there are rule breakers trying to drive into the city without the proper number of people in their vehicle.
Goodness.

Last night I was concerned about the concert we were to see.  thankfully it's been postponed so that traffic to the city will be back to normal.

so, it's easy for me to take this all in stride.  I had a loss of power in a house that has a generator and in a town that has power to run gas stations.  I simply cannot imagine the difficulty those in areas of Queens and the barrier islands and New Jersey must be going through.  A loss of home, power, property.  Cell towers are no able to run and they have even lost communication.  How can they face each day?  I wish I could drive in to New Brunswick and grab my friends and get them out of there.  Of course, maybe they have done that already.  This is a mess.

In less than a week we have, potentially, another mess on our hands.  What if Mitt Romney, man who previously stated that he did not believe the federal government should provide FEMA funds, wins the presidency?