If there is any silver lining about a natural disaster, it’s that they can often bring out the best in folks. For many people the frankenstorm was devastating, but for me in my little corner of Bed Stuy, it reminded me that I still have many people who watch my back, despite being thousands of miles and an ocean away from home.
As news of the impending storm began to reach the UK, emails from close friends started to come in “are you getting prepared?” was a common question asked, and “let me know that you are ok” became a frequent tweet. I was touched, they remembered I was here, potentially alone. I made sure to reply back straight away, and to heed their advice, I added a few vanilla scented candles from Foodtown and a couple of free boxes of matches from Duane Read to my weekly shop as a precaution.
By late Sunday night and early Monday afternoon the emails from close friends had been replaced by new ones from former work colleagues and industry acquaintances I hadn’t heard from in months. “Hey Emmy, the news is making it look apocalyptic out there, have you survived?” I had obviously, but again I was moved. I prepared for the worst by cooking up my chicken sausages and keeping the laptop and phone on permanent charge, in case of a power cut.
Whilst TV news teams throughout Tuesday and Wednesday updated the world on the rising death tolls, the flooding and Obama flying in to survey the damage, I stayed indoors. By now I was on full update duty, the initial trickle of emails had grown into a full flood of communication which spanned the breadth and depth of my address book and I jokingly told my girlfriend it was becoming a full time job just to make sure I replied to any and everyone who inquired about my well being.
Work made sure I knew not to come in, classmates frantically re arranged study sessions so that our projects could be completed on time and old, potentially new, and sometimes forgotten boyfriends popped up to either reconnect, check in, offer to wait out the storm with me or remind me of who they were before asking about my situation. In between answering emails, tweets, Skype and Facetime messages, I kept informed of all the travel news and weather reports. “You are loved” my girlfriend said, and I felt it.
2 responses so far ↓
Jesse Lee // Nov 13th 2012 at 12:30 pm
Loved the GIF! Goes with your post so well! It really was a blessing in disguise. I also got to reconnect with people who I wouldn’t normally talk to. Its terrible that a disaster must occur in order for people to come together like this but it is what it is I suppose
KAYONNE JOHNSON // Dec 18th 2012 at 2:53 pm
Old boyfriends reminding you of whom they were? That’s a riot! It always takes devastation for people to reconnect. But it’s nice to know that you are still on peoples mind, which is comforting. I love the way this is written, very conversational. As if you are telling me this story personally over coffee, I love it! Well I love everything besides the topic, obviously.
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