One Year Anniversary

      Today marks the one year anniversary of the day that Hurricane Sandy came and devastated the east coast, especially New Jersey and New York. This day also marks the day of how grateful I am that everyone and everything I love in Ocean City, NJ made it out safe and sound. Ocean City is considered an island right off the east coast so when it comes to sewage and drainage, well lets just say it isn't very affective. Minutes after the storm hit the island the streets were flooded and the surf was only getting higher. Ultimately the bay and the ocean met in the middle of the island and flooded everything completely. The ocean brought in mountains of sand that was taken away from the dunes protecting the island and dumped it all over the streets. Everything was underwater. Ocean City was never going to be the same after this.
      With me sitting in Richmond, VA watching this storm devastate the northern part of the east coast on TV I was flashing back to all of the memories that I have had in Ocean City growing up and thinking that I could possibly lose all of that because of this storm. This storm was an eye opener for so many people in that it is that easy for something you love to be taken away so quickly. Countless amounts of people were left homeless and hopeless after the storm. The storm didn't cause just structural damage but also emotional damage.
      A couple days after the storm my dad drove up the Ocean City to check out the damage of the island. What he reported was so heart breaking. Houses torn apart, mountains of sand everywhere, businesses and shops destroyed, debri all over. The little town of Ocean City was torn a part of its spirit and its family friendly environment. It was going to take a lot of work to get the island up and running again.
     Come summer time the island was practically back to its normal self. Shops and businesses were back up and running, houses were being rebuilt, streets were cleared, and the environment was in high spirits. We took what Sandy threw at us and threw it right back at her. We are Jersey strong and nothing can mess with that!