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More on the wake of Hurricane Sandy

I finally got to talk to my best friend over the weekend.  I was such a wreck waiting for word.  Her and her family are okay although  her thirteen year old son lost a school friend to the storm.  The girl's house torn from it's foundation with the surge of rushing water.  Her father is still missing and her mother has just woken up from a coma.  It's said that although they were in an evacuation zone, they stayed because their house was looted during hurricane Irene.
There are stories like this in so many areas of NY and NJ.  So many areas have been hit so hard and it's just surreal to see so much destruction to places I know so well.
I have a friend who has been on the go since the storm hit helping victims of the storm.  She has collected donations of food, diapers, formula, cloths and bedding for those who are in need.  She has gone out to help people recover what is left of their houses and so much more.  She has had so much tragedy in her life (she lost her husband in a car accident and was left to raise her daughter alone) and said that when she was in need, she had people reach out to her so this is just her way to pay it forward.  She is an inspiration.  I'd like to say if I was there, I'd be along side her helping everyone I can, but you just don't know until it happens.  She's faced with it and instead of sitting around complaining about no power or heat, she's out there helping everyone she can.  I am in awe of her and proud to call her my friend.
being so far from it has been difficult.  I am at the mercy of Fox News & CNN and  being so close to election day, I don't get to see much on the effects of the storm.  I can only get through to family and friends half the time and have had no choice than to scan the internet for what ever stories I can find on my home town and surrounding areas. The places of my youth and childhood memories have been destroyed and although I know they will rebuild, it will never be as it was in my memories.  I am so blessed to have had time on the Jersey shore this past summer before this happened.  It was the first time being there for a NJ summer since I moved here 9 years ago. I got to show my son so many of the places that are now swept away and for that, I am grateful, but am so heartbroken to see it in such devastation now.

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