Turkey Day was quiet.  Nothing to really comment about except we all ate too much.  We didn't go out or anything but stayed home, ate, watched James Bond on the TV and then called it quits for the night.  Real exciting.

I checked to see how much unemployment I had left and found that I have only 8 weeks left.  That is a mere $3,200 left.  Not very comforting.

So far no interviews, not even a tickle from an employer in the keys either  Things are not looking so good. 

The stores are stocked once again here on the North Shore.  The power is finally back on and the gas rationing is over.  But people on the South Shore are still without homes.  Makes you wonder what is going to happen there.  I think that the way that things are going, we are in for a long and rough haul.

One thing that everyone I speak with have said that during this, no one has seen a single LIPA truck at all.  You know, neither have I.  If it wasn't for the efforts of the crews from out of state, we would still be in the dark.  Yep LIPA should take a lesson from them.

Now it is starting to get cold around here.  The 40's is the norm with one or two days in the low 50's.  It will not be long now before we hit the 30's and lower with the edition of that dreaded white stuff called....snow.  Something I was hoping never to see again.

The Power Ball is over $300 Million right now.  I am going to play it and hopefully hit it.  OK if not all $300 Mil, at least a sizable chunk.  But the way New York is, you get 2nd place you get practically bupkis.  And when they hit you with the taxes, you are luck if you keep 50% of the winnings.  But still 50% of 300 mil is not bad.  I can force myself to live on that.  So tomorrow, gotta invest a few bucks.

'till next time

Nassau County Healthcare

Part of my separation from my company was that they will cover COBRA up until December 31st of this year.  Then from that point I either have to pay for it, do without or get something else.

I was hoping to be re-employed by now even if it means staying on Long Island which would provide health care.  Considering the futile job search to date, it does not look very promising for me as far as health coverage goes.  To pay for the COBRA will cost me about $2,200 a month.  Much more than what I get on unemployment.

Now I will need to look at the alternatives and none of them are attractive at this point.

First is to pay for the COBRA out of pocket and like I said earlier that is $2,200 a month.  When you get only $355 net a week on unemployment and have a household to support paying for COBRA is not an option.

Next are the 'public' health care options.

First is the Healthy New York plan.  With what I get on unemployment I would qualify for that but the premiums from I learned are 50% of what unemployment gives.  In that case I would have only a little over $152 a week to live on.

Unemployment in New York is at poverty levels already and you cannot truly take care of your family on it.  Long Island as a very high cost of living already and unemployment does not cut it.  And our governor is not going to do anything to fix it.  Yep, gotta love Long Island.

Next is Family Health Plus.  I don't have to pay into this but what I get on unemployment negates me from getting it.  I am $10 over the limit.  A lousy $10.

Then there is Medicaid.  I can get that but with the way that Nassau County runs it, I would lose the shirt on my back.  With Nassau County I would have to sign over most everything we own.  That means I have to sign over our life insurance policy's, any savings we have, our retirement, even our car would have to be signed over.

Now if I decide to get slick to try and save what we have by giving (loaning it for safe keeping actually) to our kids, Nassau County will check our finances out and see that we had assets and lock us out for three years before we are eligible for assistance.  Welcome to Long Island.

And of our savings, I was trying to set aside some so we could drive to Key West and check out the area.  And if I so happen to get luck and get a job offer there we would need finances to move out of New York.  Signing this over to Nassau County would permanently negate those desires and wishes.   Yes, you really have to love living on Long Island.

And if I should get into a good position while on Medicaid you need to pay them back in full.  They will take steps to go as far as garnishing what you make and can take up to 50% of your salary.

The way Nassau County is set up, they force you into poverty and keep you there.  Yea, we've been there many years ago and know of people that had to go through it.  If there was no problem with it, then what are there so many lawyers that specialize in Medicaid?  So Medicaid is not a viable option.

Finally we can go without health care.  My wife and I have our own health issues like so many millions of people do and health is a necessity.

There is an advocacy group out on Long Island that is supposed to work and get you affordable health care.  I reached out to them and they told me there is nothing that they can do.  In essence they handed us a death sentence.  Gotta Love Long Island....not.

So we are going to have to sit down and come up with a plan of attack in what to do.  Part of this of course includes the job search and I am still hoping for a job in the Keys.

I heard that they arrested that jerk that assaulted the Florida worker in Hempstead.

There are no gas lines at the stations but the governor has yet to lift rationing.

'til next time

Getting back to normal

Things are getting back to normal very slowly here on the North Shore.  The South Shore is a whole different matter.

Here on the North Shore there was very little property damage for he ms part.  Some houses were hit be falling trees, others has less to no damage at all.  Bu on the South Shore people lost everything.  In one area the people were allowed to go back for four hours to survey h damage and collect what they can from their belongings.

In the wake of this WCBS FM radio announced that is appalling, a new form of tourism.  People have been seen touring the disaster area, taking photos and leaving.  Disaster tourism is what they called it.  Mind you WCBS FM was not promoting it, they just reported it.  Now I wager some jerk will offer tours of the area.

Someome must be reading this blog who has infuence.  In my last entry I mentioned how bad the gas situation was here.  Monday most if not all of the gas stations by me had gas, were open, were pumping and there were no lines.  I pulled into a gas station and was able to fill up without waiting.

That station that was hording gasoline just for landscpers was slammed according to what I read on Gas Buddy.  Someone posted that there were so many complaints against the station, the police made them open their pumps.

Everyone I have spoken to have all said the same thing, the out of state electrical workers are kicking ass and no one has seen any LIPA trucks anywhere.  I guess they are ashamed that the out of state crews are showing them up.

Regrettably I heard a brief news blurb that a guy from Florida got out of his truck in Hempstead and some jack ass beat the crap out of him and sent him to the hospital then took off.  The guy from Florida as nothing to do with the screw ups that LIPA created and he was here cleaning up the mess.  If the entire crew decides to pack up and head home, I would not blame them.

I hope the police get the assailant quickly and slam his ass behind bars.  But with the way things run around here the jerk just might not do time or very little of it unless he has a long rap sheet.

For those who are not familiar with Hempstead, it is not a very safe area.  It used to be a great town but now in several sections you have to wonder if you are going to get out alive.  I have never had any problems personally I guess it is because that I am a big guy and tower over a lot of people which give an ominous appearance.   But when I go there I always keep a weather eye out and try not to stay there very long.

Now speaking of LIPA, the C.O.O. resigned on Tuesday.  Now if the CEO quits things might turn around.  LiLCo was grossly mis-managed which brought about the birth of LIPA.  And now LIPA is worse than LiLCo every thought of being.  With LiLCo our electrical rates were at the highest in the nation and LIPA promised to lower it which never happened.  We pay more now than ever and I don't think things will change.

But we need to wait and see.

Now we are bracing for another Nor'Easter that should be here next week just before Turkey Day.


Any way, it has been eight months since I received my last paycheck and so far it has been dismal as far as the job search is going.  But gotta keep plugging.

Right now it is 39 degrees here and a wonderful 71 in Key West.  Nice.

'till Next Time

Sandy #3

Sandy left her mark on the NY Metro area is for sure.  What was coined as a Frankenstorm lived up to it's name and then some.  Not many including myself believed the weather forecasters because they have been wrong on so many occasions.

The danage to the North Shore was minor to mild.  But in many areas of the South Shore it was pure devistation.  Homes, businesses and livlihoods are now gone.  Amd the coastal sections of New Jersey where Sandy made land fall are in worse shape.

I learned from a few freinds that work in supermarkets not to touch the frozen foods for at least a month.  The food thawed out and the district managers said to refreeze and sell it.  The stores have to comply and are putting people's health at risk.

There are several hundred thousand still without power here on Long Island.  Crews from outvof state are doing a bang up job and can teach the LIPA crews a thing or two about how to get things done.  But more people are needed to complete the job.  It is that over wealming.

In the November 11th edition of Newsday it was reported that one of the problems with the restoration is that the union, local 1049 of the IBEW demands that the out of state workers join it (which LIPA workers are members of) and then get garnished union dues and other fees as:

22.5% of each person gross salary goes to the IBEW annuity fund,
$9.75 an hour to the union;s health and welfare,
3% of the gross salary to the craft divisoinskill improvement fund,
3% of the gross salary  the National Electrical Benefit Fund,
and lesser amounts to other funds

Barry Moline the executive director of the Florida Municipal Electric Association asked the union why are they doing this to the visiting workers and was told by the union "We want them (meaning the imported workers) to get a taste of the union so that when they go back home, they will want the union."  Which is a slap in the face of the out of state crews.

I am sure that Barry would agree with me in that is no way to entice someone into joining a union, especially with over 25% of their salary going to the union and it's funds.  Gotta love Long Island....Not.

This has hampered the restoration efforts for the out of state crews have to wait for the applications to be processed before they can work.  Meanwhile people are going without power and heat.  Gotta love Long Island....Not.

Some crews got so sick of the union B.S. they packed up and went home.  Can't say that I blame them.  I am no fan of unions anyway.

When this is over I promise that our electric rates here on Long Island which rank as the highest in the nation will only skyrocket even higher.  With the increase in taxes, oil and now power no one will be able to live here any longer except for the wealthy.  Gotta love Long Island...Not.

We are still dealing with what I feel is a contrived gas shortage.

In 1973 there was the famous OPEC oil embargo where the Arab nations refused to sell oil to the US.  The oil companies stopped or slowed down the release of gasoline and oil which created shortages.  Gas lines where found everywhere.  A few weeks later they put into place the odd/even rationing.

TV news crews went out over the Atlantic by helicopter and filmed tankers lined up as far as the eye can see all waiting to come in.  A relative was on one owned b Getty and said they were not allowed to pull in and off load.  They has to stay at sea for weeks fully laden with oil just waiting to pull in.

It was not until the price of gas hit over a dollar (I wish we paid that now) then there was more than enough to go around.  We never recovered from that since and the prices kept going up.  It was learned shortly after the gas started to flow again we got less than 10% of our oil from the mid-east.  So it was that the shortage of 1973 was a way for the oil companies to screw over the country.

Washington never did anything about it.

Today after Sandy we are faced with a similar problem only this time the excuse is there is no power to pump the fuel off the tankers and into the trucks.  Which I don't believe.  The prices here are climbing and at some stations they are price gouging.  There was a report that one station raised the price by $0.60 in the middle of pumping.  Several others have also inflated their prices as well.  There was a report of a station that was already charging over $5.50 for a gallon.

The county executive and other officials said they will go after these crooks.  So they file law suits which can take up to 5 years to settle.  So much for government enforcement.  Welcome to New York.

I am willing to wager that once the price gets over $6 we will see the flow of gas return to normal.  The Washington should wake up and put an end to this today.  But all we get is lip service from the county executive and the governor.  So far Obama has yet to say anything except he is there with us.  Gimme a break.

On FOX TV News the other day, the anchor read off a tweet and it said that if we were a third world country, Washington would give us billions upon billions of dollars to re-build with and fly in troops, supplies and equipment to expedite the recovery.  So far the only thins has been a few FEMA trucks handing out some MRE's and water plus organizing donation drop offs..

At least Cumo fired Emergency Management Crew Chief Steven Khur for having Suffolk workers clear a tree from his house instead of taking care of the citizens.  Now if the governor can go after the oil companies instead of yapping on TV.



On day last week about 3PM I saw a tanker dropping off gas at the Shell Station located on Shore Road and Soundview Drive in port Washington.  I was the second car in line after the tanker.  How sweet it is or at least I thought.  The station staff said that the station had no gas.  When asked about the tanker they said what tanker?  I used to work in service stations and as soon as the tanker starts it's drop, there is gas to sell.

A Port Washington police officer came out of the station having a good laugh with the staff of the station.  He then went into his patrol car and started to chase people away saying that there is no gas at that location.  I asked him then what is sitting at the station, the space shuttle?  I was sent on my way.

I went back there a little later and they still were not pumping and  got on line.  And once again I was chased off and this time the cop said they station will not be open until 9AM the next day.

I contacted the Town of North Hemstead 311 hot line and that was a total waste.  All I got was lip service and they told me to contact consumer affairs and the DA's office.  I was never able to get through to the consumer affairs office in Mineola for during their canned taped speech the phone kept on disconnecting.  I called the District Attorney's office and that too was a waste of time and they just tried to patronize me.  Then I was referred to the NY Attorney General's Office and like the other offices, was a waste of time and effort.

I even wrote to a few news websites giving thema  news tip which they never followed up on.  Even the County Executive website I made a complaint and no action is forth coming.  Gotta really love Long Island....Not.

That following day I went there at 8AM and like before the police were chasing people away saying that the station is closed and will not open.  So I went to a deli and grabbed a quick cup of coffee and went back.  Sure enough there was a long line and the station was pumping.  I got on line and was able to fill up.  But the station was cash only.  I have to wonder how much went south if you know what I mean.  Gotta love Long Island...not.

I was down a 1/4 of a tank and wanted to top off and found out that they BP Station on Port Blvd in Port Washington had a tanker there.  Again I flew to the station and was lucky enough to be number 3 on the line.  There was a Port Washington polcie officer therer and he directed the trcuk to back up after he made the delivery.  Once the truck left like in the previous incidnet everyone on the line was told that there was no gas.   Yep ya' gotta Love Long Island...NOT.

I have to ask, WTF is going on?

OK I have to sympathize with law enforcement for it is crazy out there.  The lines are horrendous and they have better things to do instead of tying up four plus officers for each station.  So I can understand why they chase people away and get short tempered.  It is not their fault.  I put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the governor and Washington who has done nothing to relieve this problem.

And that one station on Valley Road and Harbor Road?  Is still selling to landscapers only.  Gotta love Long Island...Not.

Anyway, it has been 8 months since I was terminated and still nothing on the horizon.  Still plugging along in any case and keeping my fingers crossed that I can land a job in the Keys.

'till next time.

Sandy #2

Thursday pt2

Right after making my blog entry I found a place that had ice in Hicksville.  Grabbing everything I jumped into the car and headed out to Nuzzelese Ice in Hicksville to get the precious frozen water.  On the way I saw a gas station that was open but the line was horrendous  plus I was on a time schedule so I passed it by.

I came to another station a little further down the road and they we allowing people with small gas cans only to buy gas.  They had the place taped off and the gas station staff was playing security guard.

I arrived at Nuzzelese and bought several bags of ice and learned that they had 17 50’ trailers on Wednesday with ice deliveries and they were sold out very quickly.

On my way home with the ice we passed at least 20 power company trucks from Carlisle PA staged at the local train station.  That to me was a sigh of relief that power was going to be restored soon.  But when, we have no idea.  P

When we arrived home we restocked the cooler with much needed ice. 

We heard of a station that had power and gas on Shore Road but the line was so bad people were cutting each other off and several fist fights ensued.  The police had to break them up.  Society was or is breaking down.

I don’t know if anyone as seen the show “Jericho” or not.  But if you haven’t you should.  Take away the fact that nuclear bombs were used and substitute hurricane for it and you get a pretty good idea in how things have broken down.  Of course take away the hero’s and the re-organization.

If this is how Long Island is after a hurricane, I would hate to see it if we had a total collapse of everything.

The local high school opened it’s doors and they were passing our hot meals to people, set up charging stations and provided activities for children.  That was a good thing for the community.  The local Stop and Shop allowed people to come in and sit on the benches and in Star Bucks there to get warm without having to buy anything.

That night we prepared for a long cold night.

 Friday

I got up early and headed on the road to top off my gas tank.  I saw the gas line to the only station that was pumping to the public.  I found the end and it was at least 3 miles long.  I was able to video it from start to end.  Because fights broke out yesterday the police placed three patrol cars and one motorcycle officer there.  One officer was directing traffic while the rest stood by and watched.

The gas station on the intersection of Valley Road and Harbor Road that is owned by a landscaping / construction company was still selling gas to landscapers only.  Anyone else got kicked off line.

I got a call from a friend in town who said his building had power and if there was anything I wanted to charge to go on up there.  I took him up on the offer and charged up our phones again.

On the way home we saw power company trucks working on some high tension lines only a few blocks away from the house.  Could it be that power is only a day or so away?

The radio was telling us how power was being worked on for the pumping stations for barges and tankers to off load gasoline.  From there it goes to tankers then to gas stations and hopefully to our tanks.

I never thought that in my that I would do the next thing.  FEMA was at the train station handing out hot meals in the form of self heating Meals Ready to Eat or MRE’s.  My wife and I looked at each other and with the food we might have to throw out we decided to break down and get a case of MRE’s just in case.  Who would ever think that here in March I was the CTO of a major corporation until I was replaced by a 26 year old punk now having to get free food from FEMA for my family.  I was and am humiliated at the prospect but my family comes first.

When I got back home my wife was preparing some food that was thawing out from the freezer that could be salvaged so the MRE’s were set aside.  She would rather finish off the thawing food first which makes sense.

We came up with a plan that on Saturday we would get up and be on the road by 5AM to get gas so we elected to go to bed early.

Just before retiring I had to go into the attic for something and looking out the window I saw lights only a block away.  It is getting closer!  Maybe Saturday?

Friday night was the coldest night so far.  So my wife insisted that I do an old hunters trick to help keep warm.  She gave me a pair of her tights to wear to bed.  This was my first time ever trying this so I was a bit embarrassed but since it was with my wife no one would see.  I have to admit they were very comfortable and did keep my legs warm.  Not perfect, but better than shivering.  For the top we both had layers of shirts and sweaters so the tights really helped our lower extremities.

Saturday

We got up and two of use went to go for gas at 5AM as planned.  When we got to the station and the line was already over a mile long and the station was not even open.  We decided to go into Manorhaven to see if they had power.  If they did there is a Sunoco station there that has gas in their tanks since they had no power on Friday.

We got there and sure enough the station had power for the night lights were on.  A deli next to is was in full operation and the street lights were all on.  Looks like we scored but there were cones blocking the entrances.

We elected to park and keep our eyes on the place for as soon as the attendant got there we would scoot right in.

We waited and watched and saw people pull up to the station on the street and then drive off.  Some came down Shore Road did a U-turn and saw the station was closed and headed back to the station with the long line.  One car drove over the cones, stopped at the pumps and waited.  The driver got out of the car and went to the windows of the darkend station and pounded on the glass yelling is anyone there.  He went back to his car and a few minutes later did the same thing again and then again a third time.  He finally drove off knocking down more cones.

Another car pulled in and the driver started to lean on the horn.  Not getting anywhere he drove off as well.  Time and time again cars would pull into the station and out again and others did very quick U-turns and headed back to the other station.

It was starting it get crazy there so we decided to pull into the station at the pumps before anymore nut jobs came around.  Within a few minutes there were 8 cars jockeying to get to the pumps and one was trying to push in front of us.  We were wondering if our cars were going to get hit but the panic striken drivers.

A Nassau County Police car pulled up and turned on his lights.  They started to chase the cars away.  The officer came up to us and told us that the station was going to have gas on Tuesday.  I asked him how does he know?  He said he got that from dispatch.  I asked to see it or speak to the station owner who was not there yet since it was only 7AM at the time.  The officer said he didn’t have to then threatened us with arrest if we didn’t leave.  An abuse of power?  Typical Nassau County.  So we left.

We passed two other stations that the lines were unbelievable.  We headed home.

I saw a power crew down the street.  Could it be that we will have power by tonight?

I heard that FEMA was setting up other locations with food and water of people here on Long Island plus there was a report that FEMA was going to supply gasoline to people as well but that was pretty far away from where we are.

A  relative and I went over to a neighbors house with some hot soup to see how he was doing.  He is 85, lives alone and has no heat or power as well.  So we gave him the soup and spent some time with him.  He was bundled in a blanket we brought over earlier.

The sun went down and the house got real cold real fast.  My wife was bundled in two blankets to keep warm but she was shivering like crazy.  Since we still had gas I went to the kitchen to make her a cup of tea.  As I filled the tea pot with water all of a sudden and without warning the lights went on!  Our power was restored!!!

It took a bit but the house heated up and the refrigerator started to cool so we could move food back into it.   Instead of tea we made a pot of coffee, something we have not had in a while.

Finally we were able to turn on the TV and and caught up on the events.  All I can say is OMG!  The devastation was worse than what the radio made it out.  As the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.  Houses gone, a neighborhood totally wiped out, families loosing all of their possessions.  Video taken from the South Shore with boats littered everywhere on shore, restaurants and other business damaged or wiped out.

It was a living nightmare.  I have no idea if it compared or not but it was very reminiscent of what South Florida went through when hurricane Andrew hit in 1992.  Looking at Wikipedia Sandy is the second costliest hurricane in U.S. history.  Seeing what I saw on the news, I would have to say yes it was.

Sunday

We spent the day putting things like candles, flash lights and what have you away.  We heard of a few gas stations open so we decided to go for it and try to get gas.  Each trip was a waste of time.  The lines were that bad.  Since Monday a lot of people should be going back to work, we figured that we can try and get gas early Monday AM.

I went to the local supermarket and the staff and vendors were re-stocking the shelves.  It will take some time to get everything back.  One of the workers at the store that I know told me not to buy any of the frozen items for at least a month.  The stuff was thawing out and some actually thawed out and they are re-freezing it instead of tossing it out.  Good advice.

A neighbor called late in the afternoon and said that he saw a short line at a station on the main road.  So we grabbed our keys to our cars and darted off to give that a try.  It took us maybe 5 mintues from getting the call to making the end of the line.  It was longer than what we were told.  But we elected to wait on it anyway.

While on the line some jerk in a brand new Corvette tried to push his way into the line in front of me.  Big mistake.  A 2012 $80,000 fiberglass car simply is no match for a 2001 $2,000 Towncar driven by a stubborn Irish/Scotsman.  The jerk saw that he was out gunned by my big tank and decided to abort the attempt.  He tried a few more times along the line and got no where fast.

Another jerk with a new Rolls Royce was going to try and push his way into the line further down but failed as well.

An hour and a half later we were able to get our cars full of gas.  From there we headed home.

We were discussing the gas shortage.  Is it possible that while there might be some delivery problems could it be that a good part of it is contrived by the oil industry to force prices up?  In the 1970’s they did just that.  A fake oil shortage to get the prices higher which we have never recovered from.  During the so called crisis TV news crews took helicopters out over the ocean and filmed tankers as far as the eye could see.  Not one of them was being allowed to come to port of off load thereby creating a shortage.

I would not doubt that the price of gas will hit well over $5 a gallon very soon.

A friend who lives in Deer Park told me that while she was on line to get gas a car started to push it’s way into the line a few cars ahead of her.  The driver of the car got out and pulled a gun to make it clear that he wanted to get into the line.  Naturally the police took the guy into custody but it is getting violent.

Talking to a friend who is still at my former company told me that they had to utilize my Disaster Recovery Plan and it worked perfectly.  But of course my former nasty boss and that punk are taking credit for my work.

In final respect, things are slowly getting back to normal here on the North Shore.  Hopefully we will get gasoline soon.

The damage that was suffered in East Egg was minor as compared to those on the South Shore that lost everything.  Many people are now homeless or close to it.  So here in my town I can consider ourselves lucky.

A lot of the issues I think is that we have become complacent.  The weather forecasters always forecast the worst and nothing ever happens or less than what they claim.  So who can believe them at all?  I can’t and I am sure that I am not alone.  This time they were right but who could ever prepare for a storm surge of that magnitude? 

With this under my belt, time to prepare if we ever find ourselves in that situation again.

‘till next time

Sandy

Monday

Sandy left her mark on Long Island, New York City and New Jersey.  It appears that the storm of the century was just that.  Yes I have egg on my face.  But in my defense the weather forecasters always say that the current storm is the storm of the century yet nothing ever happens.

We heard the distinct sounds of transformers exploding when the storm was nearing full force.  Then at 4PM on Monday a tree came down on a high tension line and there was the sound of the explosion from the wires separating.  The sky lit up with the blue green flash.  Then our power went out.

All through the night we heard explosions from the transformers popping.  The sky lit up with the blue green flashes with each explosion.

Fortunately we had flash lights and candles which prevented us from breaking our necks in the dark.  To keep abreast with the news we have a small radio that you need to crank to charge.

Listening to the news, NYC was getting slammed with the storm surge as sections of lower Manhattan was going under water.  Then the worst fear was realized, water started to pour into the tunnels and fill them with salt water.  There were reports of massive explosions from transformers shorting out.

We heard that Con-Ed killed power to areas to protect their equipment and to prevent additional explosions.  Smart move.  But damage has been done.

Saltwater is highly corrosive and can conduct electricity very well.  So they shut down the subways just in case which was a good thing since the tubes were getting flooded.

So NYC was without mass transit and the lower part of Manhattan is in the dark.

NJ was hit the hardest from we hear on the radio.  I just wish I could see it on TV.   We are not even getting the newspapers at this time.

So Monday was spent in the dark using candles and flash lights to see by.  A few bags of chips and a bottle of wine.

All through the night as the storm howled we heard fire trucks all over responding to downed wires.  One truck of was brought back to the fire house by a wrecker in the middle of the storm.

Tuesday

Tuesday the storm died and we went out at 6AM to buy ice to preserve our food.  We were lucky and found a supermarket that was open and bought several bags.  Looking around town there were trees and wires down all over. One house was hit by a tree from what we saw.  We didn't do much driving so to conserve on gasoline.  Even though I topped off the tank before the storm hit gas stations were closed and I had no idea when they would open again to fill up.

Listening to the radio back at the house, sections of NJ was demolished and most of the state is in black out.  I am not a big fan of the governor there but what he did impressed me a lot.  Because of the damage and possible dangers he ordered that Halloween be moved to Saturday.  He wants the kids to go out, have fun and most of all he did not want any of them hurt.

Governor Cuomo did not follow suit.  Halloween is to go on as normal even though roads may be impassible and wires still down on the ground.  Even both of the county executives are allowing the holiday to go on as normal instead of moving it a few days for the safety of the children.

We heard that the NJ Turnpike was closed from exits 10 to 14 due to trains were washed onto the roadway.  Even a tanker was washed ashore in NYC onto a street.  I was able to grab a glimpse at a Newsday and saw it with the bow on shore and the stern still in the water.  I think it is possible that it could be towed off the shore.

I saw how bad that the south shore of Long Island was hit and it took my breath away.  Houses underwater, streets that are now lakes, some in Montauk were under minded by the sea.  It is a disaster for certain.   I even heard of boats being washed ashore as well.   One photo was of a parking lot, let me re-phrase that a lake with yellow islands of the roofs hundreds of taxi cabs.

The radio said that crewmen are coming into the area to help with repairs.  That needs to be seen.  In the last storm which was a baby compared to Sandy and people were without power for over a week.  Trucks were seen idle for hours at diners instead of working.  My daughter passed by a long line of them into work and they were still there a few hours later without moving.  LIPA's batting average is poor at best.  Welcome to Long Island.

Long Beach was hit so bad that the National Guard is working along with police on patrol in case of looters.  Something you would never expect on LI at all.

The sewer in Bayport plant failed on Tuesday which means the residents of that area will have to conserve water usage.  Not a good sign.

Later on in the day on Tuesday we went back to another supermarket for more ice.  There was none to be had.   The shelves were pretty empty and people were milling about in a daze.  It was scarey.

So Tuesday was another night in the dark with candles and flashlights.

We saw fire trucks cruising the streets on patrol most of the night.  I guess they were on looking for problems or potential problems.  I know that sirens could be heard most of the day for one call after another.  They got a workout for sure.

Wednesday

Wednesday I went out early to try and get ice.  Like the afternoon before there was none.  The stores were stripped to the bone and people had the look of panic on their faces.  A friend of ours went to one and she said that people looked like zombies from fear and the loss of power.

The air was filled with the sounds of generators from the two supermarkets, a few factories and a couple of homes.  The noise gets to you after a while.  Not that it is loud it is just that constant dull engine sound.  But better that than being in the dark.

Home Depot and Lowes has a run on them.  People are lined up to get the few that remain on the shelves.  I am certain that there will be a massive order to restock.  When this is over I think we are going to have to get one for ourselves but take advantage of the over stock sales.

Driving in town there was only one deli open and they had a bang-up business going.  In another part of town a bagel store had a line half a mile long of people waiting to buy something.

Only one gas station was open.  It is owned by a landscaping/construction company.  Their trucks were all filling up.  I saw one person with a car pull up to buy gas and they sent them on their way without the fuel.  I learned that a few other people pulled in to get gas but they refused to sell it to them and a fight broke out.

I heard the county executive on the radio say that the county would crack down hard and fast on crooked gas stations due to the storm.  I'd like to see that happen.  My dealings with the county in the past was useless.  I feel that the county is as crooked as boss hog from Dukes of Hazard.  So even if there is a gas station ripping off people or screwing people why bother reporting them?

We also heard that 25% of the cell phone towers were down as well which is why I cannot get a good cell signal.

Again the radio says that LIPA is accessing the problem.  How long dose it take for them to get their butts into high gear and start to restore power?  No one in town has seen any sign of a LIPA truck at all.  The last we  heard is that is could be from 5 days to two weeks before power is restored.  Then later on they say it will take several weeks.  I am not a happy camper right now.

After Irene passed last year LIPA trucks were seen sitting at a diner for hours on end and the workers having a great time not working and keeping warm while people did without power.  A neighbor of ours went out and saw LIPA trucks sitting idle on both sides of the road and were in the same exact locations a few hours later.

But I bet that when this is over our electric rates are going to sky rocket.  We already pay some of the highest electric rates in the country and now it will only be even worse.

To keep warm we have a pot of water simmering on the stove.  Not the wisest thing to do but it works.

We are looking over the fridge and we have to determine what to keep and what to throw out.  Cooking up what we can to get a few more days is in order at this time so we need to do some planning.  Thursday it is supposed to be in the 40's so in a way we can use the outside as one big fridge for some items.  But we are going to have to purge the fridge of food anyway.

But for the inside we are not to happy at the prospect of freezing.

We could go to one of the shelters.  There is one in Garden City at Nassau Community College but those would be noisy, no privacy and very uncomfortable.   Right now there is over 850 people there.  Plus we too would have to worry about looters since there is no power.  Since we are home should a looter break in, they will get a very nasty reception.  Let's let it go at that.

So for Wednesday we are getting more blankets and sweaters out and prepare for another cold night.

Thursday

I was able to get internet access by going with a friend into their job.  I tried to get access to Newsday but they are still restricting access to their site, even in this state of an emergency.  So I was able to look at the NY Times and my heart stopped from what I saw.  The photos looked like we were in a war zone.

How I miss the TV and newspaper.

There were only a few traffic lights working but we had to be very careful driving.  We saw one idiot racing along bouncing from lane to lane cutting people off.  We caught up with the jerk at a traffic light that was working.

We saw some very large trees down, one house had a section missing from a tree falling on it.  A gas station had a long line of customers looking for gas which I will need to do myself soon.

Other than that it was a smooth ride all the way in.  But we are going to need to find ice and gas today.  Lots of phone calls are planned.

I did hear that they are setting up food distribution centers in certain areas of Nassau where you can pick up a few meals for your family.  We are not at that point yet.  Even if we toss everything from the fridge we have canned food and can make pancakes.

It is going to be a rough one that is for sure.   Finally looking at the photos today makes me thankful that all East Egg got was downed trees and wires.  No one in our family was hurt at all so we have to count our blessings.  The south shore of LI is in shambles, Lower NYC is at a standstill and NJ is beyond hurting.  I just wish LIPA would get a move on and restore power.

That is it for this segment.  I know it was not posted as I normally would do but I am prepping it as if it was and the next entry might follow as a separate post or a continuation of this.

'till next time.