We decided to go for a walk. It wasn't too cold, not too windy. We were going to have to make walking our primary mode of travel for the foreseeable future. No time like the present to start.
We started walking with no set goal in mind. We wanted to just get back out in the world, be together and see the neighborhood. As we walked we noticed the progress of the clean-up effort. Our community had pulled together to pull us out of the misery that we had settled into.
We passed local stores, all closed due to storm damage, power outages or both. Sad. Nowhere to stop and buy a newspaper or snack. We walked the mile to our school, the school where I have worked for 19 years, and my sons both attend. It is a second home to our family. It was Saturday, so it was closed. It had been closed all week long, as all New York City public schools had been. No power, no gas, no school buses running. It was another place that we needed to get back to. I was hoping that my students were all safe and warm. Couldn't wait until Monday!
We walked around the block to Pizza D'Amore. I was amazed to learn that we had collected over $300 in such a short time. The manager was thrilled, and suggested we keep it going. He said that they had wanted to do something for the families, but they weren't sure what they could do. Now, they had a mission and a goal. Feed the families of the Rockaways. Yay! However, as of yet, nothing had been delivered. They had no one to take it there yet. No gas. No deliveries. More frustration.
I asked my boys if they wanted to stay and eat lunch. Nope! Not hungry. I found this hard to believe, because my boys are ALWAYS hungry. Maybe the stress was taking a toll on them, too. More reason for me to worry. We continued to walk. Massive trees lay across the side streets. None looked as if they had done much damage to cars or people, thank goodness, but they were still there as a looming reminder of the horror we had all faced.
The gas stations along our route had lines 8 or 9 blocks long. Good thing I didn't have a car, I guess. I would be be walking anyway.
We wound up a half mile further away, at our local mall. As soon as we walked through the door, my boys were hungry. For pizza. It figures. Nice to be normal. We ate and drank and chatted, among other families seeking a few hours of escape from the despair and destruction so many were facing. I have never had such an awareness of the burdens that my fellow New Yorkers were facing.
The boys and I walked more. We walked around the mall. We saw people sitting at charging stations kindly set up by mall management. They had their cell phones, tablets and laptops. Most still wore their coats, although the mall was a comfy 70 degrees. Probably an inner chill from the shock that they all had just endured. There was also a blood drive in progress. The storm had caused a major blood shortage in the tri-state area. I considered donating. Really, I did. I just didn't think with the stress I had been under and my children along, it was an appropriate time. I will do it in a few weeks. Blood is always needed.
As we began to walk home, I could see the fatigue my children were feeling, but were not complaining about. I felt guilty. These were children who were used to a 2 car family, never having the need to walk if we could drive. Was this a good life lesson? Sure. Was it a lesson I wanted to teach under such trying circumstances? Not on a bet. I was hoping that they could make it the rest of the way.
The next thing that happened renewed my faith both the goodness of my fellow human beings and in Karma, the belief that when you do good, you get good. A mom from our school, a lady I had met and chatted with casually, happened to be passing by. She stopped her car and "ordered" us in. She wouldn't think of making us walk. Nice. I would have made it home, no problem. My boys? I wasn't too sure. Things were looking up.
a tree in front of our local temple ripped out of the ground in the storm
Next: Getting food to the hungry
Here is a video done by ABC News and Elizabeth Vargas about Breezy Point. Heartbreaking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbMX2A545Wo&feature=player_embedded
Visit my Adopt-A-Classroom Page to help students in need:
http://www.adoptaclassroom.org/classroomdonation/results_teacher.aspx?classroomid=45469
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