Diary In The Dark – Part 2

By Larry Gordon

We came back to the black hole that is presently a large part of the Village of Lawrence after Shabbos in Brooklyn to more disappointment. Shabbos was grand and enjoyable in Brooklyn where cousins told us that had they not listened to radio news they never would have known about the seriousness of Hurricane Sandy.

On Rockaway Turnpike there are still long lines of cars waiting to fuel up, the good news though seems that there were several additional stations that featured these seemingly endless queues. We came back from Brooklyn tonight to a cold and dark home and we stayed for only a few minutes—enough time to drop some things off and pick up some overnight things.

That is because tonight we decided to stay in the offices of the 5 Towns Jewish Times. The office is well lit and warm. The rooms are nicely furnished and carpeted. We have two couches and brought along two blow-up beds that we usually use for some of our grandkids. The truth is that we had several offers to stay in peoples home with powers but we decided that we wanted to try one night in the office so you can check for updates on the experience tomorrow.

For now, things around here seem kind of up in the air. The LIPA website says 90% of homes will have power restored by Wednesday. The other 10% may take weeks. Local officials still seem confounded as they try to get a handle on the situation. It seems that when you are even an elected official in a village like this those with real power in Nassau County or even New York State do not give you the respect or consideration that you would think they would. In a way it’s nice that Tuesday is Election Day. Time to throw the unresponsive bums out.

For now it continues to be difficult but manageable. It would be heartening to be able to discern some real palpable change on the street and in our homes. We sit and wait.

{Matzav.com Newscenter}