A City That Never Sleeps...And Spirits That Never Quit

It is said that New York City never sleeps.  However, just over a year ago, on October 29th, 2012 the city withstood one of it's toughest natural disasters on record...Hurricane Sandy.  There was additional damages in the surrounding areas of New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island.  Hurricane Irene had hit the same tri-state area just 14 months earlier.  Most New York City dwellers thought that they would avoid the brunt of damage from Sandy, just as they had did for Irene and a handful of other big hurricanes over the past 30 years.  However, that would not be the case this time.

This generation of New Yorker City residents will long remember watching both the East River and the Hudson River breaching Manhattan on it's west, south and eastern shorelines.  They will never forget seeing video footage of subway tunnels, as well as the Mid-town and Brooklyn Battery tunnels also under water.  Lastly, who can forget the horrific flood and fires in Breezy Point, Queens?  There's plenty more to point out and many stories to remember from a year ago.  By the time Thanksgiving had come last year, most of us were simply thankful for food, and for being spared from any greater loss of life or property.

I remember visiting my mother last Thanksgiving.  She still resides in Lower Manhattan.  Yes, by Thanksgiving of 2012, the East River waters had long since receded, however, when you walked around downtown and could still see the waterline on the buildings - it brought it all into prospective.  Seeing the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) generators parked on 34th street, three weeks after Sandy and lines of crookedly parked cars, with condensation filled windows, stretching six or seven blocks - all having signs on them indicating that they were damaged by Sandy and could not be moved - really brought things into perspective that Thanksgiving day.

Here is a link to the Huffington Post Dot com, with some dramatic pictures for those who would like to see some visual reminders of that horrible aftermath.

In spite of it all, New York City is back.    

Just a couple of weeks ago, this past November 8, the Philippines was struck by a typhoon, which packed winds up to 200 miles per hour.  I've known, grown up and even work with friends of Philippian heritage.  On behalf of all New Yorkers and Americans everywhere...I extend condolences and prayers to the survivors and relatives of this disaster.  

This highlighted text is a link to NBC news which will direct you to reputable sites for donations to the disaster in the Philippines.