The Jersey Shore After Hurricane Sandy

The wind chime hung from the roof of the abandoned house , it swayed calmly and slowly against the wind , everything seemed peaceful . We - my father and I - sat on the porch of the rundown house that only we knew about . It was dark and I wasn’t the biggest fan of the night , the night is unpredictable but yet so beautiful .

That storm was it, we had been suffering for weeks. There was dust all over our house, most of our things were broken. Our crops were dying because of the gruesome drought we had gotten, so that meant that my father was not making any money from our crops and we were barely getting anything to eat. Although our life those past few weeks has been tough, I didn’t want to leave. We moved there from New Hampshire a good four years before and since then I had grown so much, I had so many friends and I was doing so well in the school there, but it was time for us to move and live in sunny California.

Have you ever driven down the Garden State Parkway and seen car magnets that have “Jersey Strong” written on them? To summarize what “Jersey Strong” means in a few words is that no matter what obstacle strikes the Garden State, the people who live in New Jersey can get through anything together. In the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, New Jersey was hit by a deadly hurricane that left southern parts of the state in complete ruins. Not only were thousands of homes and businesses destroyed, but also over one hundred people were killed nationwide. This hurricane was a natural disaster that thousands of people could never forget about. The history making hurricane, Hurricane Sandy, did not only leave destruction in New Jersey, but also personal and economic troubles.

On a Saturday morning, James brown was reading his favorite book as usual, the bird in front of his house squeezing. He read on every saturday and sunday to get some relief from work and all the stress that built up over time. He was really into reading his book, but after a while of reading, James stand next to the window and listen to the rain pouring into the small pound. The rain was getting stronger and stronger as Mrs.Brown got a little scare. She was screaming very loud, the wind blow harder, hat on the resident of Kansas City blow off as if someone smack it off there head. Mrs. Brown was crying because it was rain really hard and there was lighting. James went to his wife and comfort her by humming.

On that little dirt road with only dead plants around me, I had run out of gas, which forced me to get out of the car. With no money to pay for more gas I had to push my car to the nearest place I could find a job. I passed a couple houses which I could help clean the dust or farm for 50 cents or so but I decided to keep moving forward. I pushed the car for a couple miles before it started to get dark. It was to early in the day to become dark, so I knew a dust storm was coming. I saw an abandoned shack a couple feet ahead, so I grabbed my luggage and ran to it. There was no hope for my car, I didn’t have enough time to push it somewhere safe or enough luggage to hold it down from the winds. About 20 minutes into the storm, I watched my car fly away with the dust.

As the Assistant Administrator of National Preparedness with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (F.E.M.A.) when Super Storm Sandy made landfall on October 29, 2012, in New Jersey it brought with it storm surges of more than 11 feet, killing more than 100 people (including 43 in New York of which 34 occurred in Queens and Staten Island), destroying or damaging thousands of homes, and leaving more than 8 million people without power.

It was a normal day, beautiful even. The sky was clear, it was warm, you wouldn't ever think that today would take multiple lives. There were no clouds in the sky. Little did I know how much my life, and the inhabitants of my hometown, was going to change.

The morning afterwards, everybody was getting text messages and phone calls to ensure that everybody was okay. The rising sun granted us the ability to see the full damage that the tornado had brought to our small town. There were houses completely ripped in half, roofs missing, pieces of fencing were thrown around; the aftermath was a very devastating scene. People were walking frantically outside on the streets, rummaging through the debris, coming to terms with reality. I saw people crying while others comforted and hugged them. This was the first experience where I had seen neighbors supporting each other and it affected the way that I saw Sunnyvale; through this period of sadness, I saw support.

The effect of the disaster on the community was massive as it dramatically affected the tourism and fishing, restaurants and beaches, for the people who have livelihood depend on tourism and fishing, it led to many job losses.

Teens behave from what is portrayed on TV, especially television shows such as Teen Mom, Real World and the infamous Jersey Shore. While there are parental controls that block children from watching these shows, teens always find a way to watch. Teens from 13-17 watch these shows which are highly inappropriate for their age group. In the beginning of Jersey Shore, it states “parental vision advised, and that should be a warning to the parents that this isn’t a show for a child watch. Looking at Jersey Shore, an evaluation on whether the content from the Jersey Shore is good or bad for the age group 13- 17 to watch considering the language used, the sexual and violent content, and whether they pick up these behaviors from Jersey Shore. The content

Essentially, a hurricane is just a big storm. Hurricanes are formed when the moisture in the air evaporates and rises up until the heated moisture is twisted into the atmosphere. The cold and hot air will start “chasing” each other anti clockwise, and can reach speeds of 75 miles per hour.

The stories about the sweet little boy in foster care, who always tried to cheer everyone up both broke my heart and made me smile. His message gave hope, and strength to many.

I remember the exact feeling that came over me when I first heard very clearly. My mom then came in from another room and was extremely pale. Her eyes were as watery as a flooded river during a storm. I saw her, and she saw me. We both, crying like babies, had a long and love-filled embrace in the middle of my house. I am not going to go into detail about everything else that happened, but no more than two hours after that moment my mom and I were in a car on the way to the airport to fly to England. This was one of the hardest plane rides I have ever had to experience. When we arrived to my mom's hometown, Liverpool, an array of sorrow and sadness filled the air. On the other hand, there was also a huge feeling of love. I felt a deep connection with every one of my family members. We were all together, and nowhere else would we rather have been at that time. We went on to grow so much closer as a family.

The scenery is still very warming like a puppy that is held close to your chest. The old water tower remains standing protruding through the earth. Dust floats in the air, creating clouds, when we drive down the jerky road. I look around, nothing has changed from last time I was here, the grain bins still reflect the sun. Each corn stalk stood tall and firm making it difficult for me to see what mom and I always drive for. The pressure on the gas pedal increased giving the car a jolt of energy like a kid who has just three bags of candy. Then it came into view, with the tree swing still hanging in the backyard waiting for someone. I pulled into the carmel driveway shifting the car into park allowing it to rest and closed the door with a “clunk”. As I turned around the house stood silently still, I took a deep filling my lungs with the most amazing feeling.

It was quite fascinating watching the seasons pass by, the autumn leaves shimmering brightly upon the sweet ambient embrace of the sun. When spring rolled around wild rabbits pounce about, quite inquisitive animals they were with their stout noses, mischievously pondering about with a great deal of vigilance. The miserable winter plight brought about an unforgiving chill that made the hairs on your skin stand up on end. A shallow frost covered the ground turning the place into our own little winter wonderland, the first speckles of the sun glistening upon the humble earth. On the break of summer, the sweet melody of songbirds echoed around in upheaving harmony. It was