As most of you probably know, I am originally from NJ. I grew up in Northern Monmouth county, worked for 14 years as a paramedic in Monmouth and Ocean counties (mostly along the shore) and lived in Toms River, NJ (on the western side of town) for 6 years.
I know dozens of people - family, friends, acquaintances - who have been affected by this storm (my mom just got power back today and my sister & brother, and quite a few cousins are still without power). I know a few who have completely lost their homes. As a teenager, I spent many summer days in Belmar, Point Pleasant and Seaside (it usually depended on how much gas money we had). I used to frequently visit the piers and ride the rides that are now on the ocean floor. We used to spend hours walking up and down the boardwalk an people watch. As a paramedic, I got the opportunity to meet some wonderful people who lived in that area. One family in particular was a 'frequent flyer' (he had bad congestive heart failure). We were at his house about every other month - and he only seemed to get sick when I was working. He lived in Mantoloking, NJ. IN this picture, http://bit.ly/VIdag8, his house was pretty much where there is an inlet now. This may sound odd (and admittedly even a bit selfish), but when I watch the news or see pictures of the aftermath of the storm, I feel as if part of my life has been ripped away from me - leaving me with kind of an empty feeling inside. I know it does not compare to losing your home or even power for a few days. Maybe I just feel helpless to do anything from 400 miles away. Maybe I am feeling a little guilty that I not only left the area, but left a career where I could maybe have helped some of those people. Either way, last night I think I hit my saturation point. As my wife and I were watching the news - seeing the same video footage of my beloved Jersey Shore I have seen all week - I started to tear up. I came close to losing it completely when I spoke with my mom this morning and she was telling me of some of the damage done to neighboring towns -places that are not as 'glamorous' as Mantoloking or Seaside, places that are not getting the same press coverage, but decimated all the same - and that the bodies of 2 young boys were found in Raritan Bay, not far from her house. -- Scott Stroz --------------- You can make things happen, you can watch things happen or you can wonder what the f*&k happened. - Cpt. Phil Harris http://xkcd.com/386/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Order the Adobe Coldfusion Anthology now! http://www.amazon.com/Adobe-Coldfusion-Anthology/dp/1430272155/?tag=houseoffusion Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:357469 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
