First responders, ER personnel, cops, soldiers, the class that are the real servants of the people.......
We regularly do and see things that are not within the norm for the vast majority, and it leaves it's mark. However, usually the choice to fulfill one of these roles is motivated by things higher than ourselves. The feeling of doing good things for a good cause, often unsung, the relationships you make with those that share your misery......... These things are hard to explain to outsiders. We don't say it enough to the daily "grunts" in our lives, but thank you for your service, remember the time with pride, and enjoy your success in the sure knowledge that you stepped up when it mattered. I'm from L.I., N.Y. My Mom and her husband and my sister still live in Levittown. They are still on a newly purchased generator (sis works for home depot, they got a bad long term credit deal, but they needed it) so they at least have power and hot water. They are sharing it with the neighbors who are paying for the fuel. Local community at it's finest. On the flip side there are National Guard guys at some gas stations after riots and guns getting pulled over shortages, shortages that don't even need to be happening, artificial shortages, when you consider the nations strategic reserve of fuels and what even a trickle of that could mean in this situation. Sell it, at fair market value, truck it in. I know there are hundreds of thousands of gallons on Ft. Drum right now. My second families, the Healy and O'Toole clans; who I lived with and fought with and drank with and still talk shit with are still there. They are OK, but things are far worse than being reported; which seems to the norm with modern 4th estate. On Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 2:40 PM, Scott Stroz <boyz...@gmail.com> wrote: > > 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:357473 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/unsubscribe.cfm
