WRITING CULTURE 2012: Film, Food & Beyond

(Credit: AP/Roberts F. Bukaty)

My life hasn’t been greatly stymied by Hurricane Sandy. At the behest of Mayor Michael Bloomberg I roughed the storm at home, maybe roughed is an over statement. I live in Crown-Heights, Brooklyn, N.Y. I almost feel guilty for not experiencing such devastation as so many of my fellow New Yorkers. Maybe it’s survivor’s guilt? I don’t know. But I do know what happened is real. My brain is still dealing with the fact that it happened here, in my town, in my city. I cringe at the photos I’ve seen, bodies dragged from swamps, content of homes piled all around what used to be front lawns resembling debris, neighborhoods destroyed. I can’t even begin to fathom what it must feel like, to lose everything you own, to have loved ones missing, to be in a shelter, to not know what comes next.

New York isn’t built for this; I didn’t expect Hurricane Sandy to be so disastrous. I thought it was going to be another Hurricane Irene, rain and wind, nothing major. I couldn’t predict this. Even while Bloomberg announced MTA would shut down by 6p.m. Sunday evening and advised everyone to stay indoors, I wasn’t convinced, “I doubt it’s going to be as serious as they’re making it to be” I told my mother. But the more I read about the possibilities of what could happen, the more nervous I became. My sister and nephew still weren’t home yet; they were on the road making their way back home from Maryland. Bloomberg soon announced the likelihood of closing bridges, “Drive with a sense of urgency but safely” I texted my sister. It took her a few hours but I was thrilled when they finally made it home.

When the hurricane arrived Monday night, October 29^th my family was prepared. My dad went grocery shopping over the weekend, stocking up on: water, food, batteries, and other supplies. My mother, a great hoarder of safety supplies placed candles strategically around the house just in case the power went out. It didn’t. Lights only flickered. I read on Facebook and on Salon how badly Sandy already affected thousands of lives. I couldn’t believe it; all I heard was strong winds and saw rain. To me it was more like a heavy rainfall. The Internet and cellphone service was in and out, which was the most frustrating for me. But at least I could watch the news on television.

After the storm passed I was anxious to get back into my regular routine but knew it wouldn’t be possible. So much had changed within a few days, crippling New York. Lives have forever been altered. Mainstream media hadn’t captured the essence of what truly has happened. Talk of power outages in lower Manhattan is no big deal compared to lives claimed by Sandy. Many homes, communities, childhood’s, gone. Dreams have died; despair has taken refuge in the survivor’s.

(Credit: Twitter via @MTAInsider)