Going MIA

[pacanis]

i'm still looking to hear from aunt bea. hope all is okay with you, aunt bea! how about that note you mentioned might be left at the dc kitchen table, when folks have the need to step away for a while?

i know i'm not the only one missing your insightful and humorous comments, aunt bea.

Maybe she left it on "the back porch" instead

 

[vitauta]

thanks, lp, good idea. perhaps i'll do that....

 

[LPBeier]

Maybe she left it on "the back porch" instead

 

[vitauta]

Maybe she left it on "the back porch" instead

...or she is wandering about on your posted property, having heard about the plentiful purslane patches growing rampant there...foraging for mushrooms, roots and herbs for tonight's dinner....

 

[msmofet]

Hello everyone. First off, my internet is coming and going so I can be cut off at any time. We are safe. We lost power at 9pm and we put the shades up and kept seeing eerie green glowing flashes as transformer after transformer blew. We had to leave at 11pm Monday. We went from 2 inches of water to 5 FEET of water in minutes. A levee broke and the town was under water. We are back home but our fuel tank was turned over, we got water in the house. We have power but no heat. Our town lost our Police station, Fire station and emergency Rescue buildings and some of the vehicles. National Guard came in to take people to shelter. We got one of our cars out just before the water got it. Our other car was moved earlier to a "safe" place. HOWEVER, the levee broke which cause 10 feet of water to flood in BEFORE high tide. Our other car had about 2 inches of water after the water receded. I tried driving out of the area but there were HUGE trees down across roads, FEET of water and power lines down. It was very unnerving drive in pitch black and stopping JUST in time even with high beams on driving was very stressful. We were the only people on the roads. We drove in and out of areas with and without power. We slept in our car Monday night. Tuesday we found a hotel room. The hotel had no power, heat or hot water but it was dry and we had beds. The cable and internet is going on and off. Our landline phone is out and cell phone is not reliable because cell towers are down. We are trying to conserve car gas because stations are out of gas or gauging $1.00+ OVER regular price. Those S.O.B.'s should be arrested for taking advantage of a tragedy! I have about 1/2 tank of gas in each car. I went out at 2 am Tuesday night looking for food, drink for the family, and decided to get some gas. Good thing because people are waiting for an hour or more at the few stations open in Paramus. I just saw that one ran out of gas. I am having some medical issues. I am having vision problems I think are related to stress, diabetes and high blood pressure. I got one message from my work (when I had a cell signal) that they had no power in the building but were going to bus people to Brooklyn but I see on the news that Brooklyn was hit pretty bad. My hub does not want me to even try to get to work because I might not get home until 2am and do not want to leave girls alone that long. Oh BTW the whole area around I live is soaked in kerosene from over turned fuel tanks and gasoline from gas cans that people had outside that floated away and spilled over into the flood water. Very worried some idiot will set use on fire with a cigarette or a dropped match etc.

I have power and gas, cooking and hot water are gas so no problem there (BUT not much food). I have NO landline phone, almost no cell phone (because cell towers are down) and little heat. There was a small amount of fuel left in tank so we need to conserve because we have no idea when we will be able to get fuel.

The small car that got flooded runs but is now having an electrical issue. When he turns the car off there is a "bonging" tone but we can't figure what it is except maybe the automatic seat belt. He has to remove a battery cable so the battery does not drain. We cannot get it fixed until power is back at the Pep Boys or a gas station. And we still aren't sure if water got into anything in the engine or tank. We were told if it did the engine could die.

BTW They postponed Halloween in New Jersey till Monday November 5 due to hurricane damage.

 

[Alix]

Glad to hear from you msmofet, sounds like its been quite the wild ride! Prayers going up that you remain safe and well.

 

[vitauta]

so glad you and your family are safe, msm! you and bt have been in my thoughts this week as we watched this incredible monster of a storm attack with fury a sizable chunk of our country's east coast.
thank you so much for chronicling your hurricane ordeal of these past few days. we are enormously proud of the way you have managed to deal with each successive problem and obstacle you have encountered. please continue to keep in touch with us as you can. knowing that you are safe and unhurt is an immense relief for your friends here at dc. hugs, msm....

 

[LPBeier]

MsM, I am so glad you were able to write us and let us know your situation. I will be praying for all your needs and the needs of your town, neighbours, etc. It is so hard for me to imagine what you must be going through and wish there was something I could do.

 

[msmofet]

Thank you everyone for the thoughts and prayers.

 

[chopper]

Prayers out for you and yours Ms.M. Take care of each other.

 

[Dawgluver]

Oh, MsM! Thank you so much for keeping us posted! What scarey goings-on. Thoughts and prayers for you and yours.

 

[taxlady]

Oh, MsM! Thank you so much for keeping us posted! What scarey goings-on. Thoughts and prayers for you and yours.

What she said. and (((hugs)))

 

[pacanis]

Thanks for the firsthand account MsM.
Keep looking at the positives, as disparaging as it seems.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Thinking of you and yours MsM. Take care!

 

[msmofet]

Thank you for the comforting words, they really do help. It is crazy out there. I saw on the news some guy in NYC cut in line for gas and when another guy complained the line cutter pulled a gun on him!! I am now worried about even trying to go find gas. My landline phone (regular old-fashioned phone NOT digital or cable phone) is still out. I had to go onto Verizon website to set up a repair call. Set for Monday 11/5/12 (Halloween for us LOL). Called the office manager where I work and she said not to worry about work today just call her over the weekend and let her know how we are doing. She left her home phone number on my answer call machine. I can call to get my home phone messages (when I have a cell signal); calls to us are going straight to voice mail.

I would swim through a flood to get an egg nog shake from Micky D's or a gingerbread shake from Burger King IF they had power and were open!! LOL
Funny thing was that the Micky D's right next to the hotel we stayed at and our hotel had NO power BUT the Dunkin Donuts right next door to Micky D's HAD power!! The line of cars trying to get into that place was a mile down the highway. LOL I even saw a firetruck and a police car waiting in the line!! TeeHee is that a stereotype confirmed or what?

 

[LPBeier]

MsM, one of the things I have always loved about you is that even in tough times you are able to find a chuckle or two and look for the bright side. Thank you for this because the combination of your description of the bad and the good help those of us not there to understand the situation so much better.

Stay safe {{{{{{{{{{{{{MsM}}}}}}}}}}}}}

 

[Addie]

So glad to hear you are alive and kicking. Keep looking for the funny moments. Prayers have been flying from this residence for all our DC members. As crazy as it may sound, we were a lot better prepared for this storm than last year for Irene. At this end, the utilities started to trim the tree back a week before the storm was due to hit. As a result the power has come back a lot sooner than folks expected. And I am sure it will come back for you soon.

When you look back at other disasters, strangers and neighbors pull together and help everyone get through it. I remember during the blizzard of '78, seeing my neighbors out shoveling not only their property, but their neighbors. Some folks even went to the post office and the local emergency clinic and shoveled them out. That is not amazing. It is just what we do. We look out for each other. And we send prayers for those we can't help but care so much about. Like yourself. Take care and keep in mind that, "...and this too shall pass."

 

[Kayelle]

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{MsM}}}}}}}}}}}}}} I'm so glad to hear from you!!! To be honest, I had totally forgotten where you live and likely just as well that I didn't know until now. I'm glad to hear that you are safe if not sound right now, and my prayers and thoughts are with you and your family at this terrible time.

 

[msmofet]

MsM, one of the things I have always loved about you is that even in tough times you are able to find a chuckle or two and look for the bright side. Thank you for this because the combination of your description of the bad and the good help those of us not there to understand the situation so much better.

Stay safe {{{{{{{{{{{{{MsM}}}}}}}}}}}}}

So glad to hear you are alive and kicking. Keep looking for the funny moments. Prayers have been flying from this residence for all our DC members. As crazy as it may sound, we were a lot better prepared for this storm than last year for Irene. At this end, the utilities started to trim the tree back a week before the storm was due to hit. As a result the power has come back a lot sooner than folks expected. And I am sure it will come back for you soon.

When you look back at other disasters, strangers and neighbors pull together and help everyone get through it. I remember during the blizzard of '78, seeing my neighbors out shoveling not only their property, but their neighbors. Some folks even went to the post office and the local emergency clinic and shoveled them out. That is not amazing. It is just what we do. We look out for each other. And we send prayers for those we can't help but care so much about. Like yourself. Take care and keep in mind that, "...and this too shall pass."

{{{{{{{{{{{{{{MsM}}}}}}}}}}}}}} I'm so glad to hear from you!!! To be honest, I had totally forgotten where you live and likely just as well that I didn't know until now. I'm glad to hear that you are safe if not sound right now, and my prayers and thoughts are with you and your family at this terrible time.

Thank you LP, Addie and Kayelle.

During Irene last year the water came up but not quite as high. We never lost any utilities (power, phone, cable, internet and gas were fine) and never had to leave home during Irene. Not many lost power etc in this imediate area during Irene. This year was bad because the levee broke and 10 FEET PLUS water surged into the area in minutes BEFORE HIGH TIDE came in. We live in the "meadows". The meadowlands has lots of small creeks all around us and several large rivers (hackensack river (is were the water jumped the banks and broke the levee) and passaic river on both sides of the area and hudson river not to far).This time (during Sandy) our power was back on in less than 24 hours BUT we had to wait for the water to recede so we could get to our house. The cable and internet still flick on and off now and then but not as often and not as long as yesterday. And no landline phone is annoying and disturbing (this is the first time I have lost landline phone in MANY years) and cell is a little stronger but not stable yet.

 

[taxlady]

Maybe the Dunkin Donuts had their own generator. When we had the ice storm in 1998, our local DD seemed to have backup power. They only made instant coffee because they didn't have enough power to run the coffee makers and I think they had gas to boil water and bake donuts.