Your assignment is to reflect on the past several days, and construct a written piece about some aspect of the storm and its effects. Your response can be in any form you like. The only requirement is that it is 300 words in length. It is due at the end of the period.
The breeze
ReplyDeleteHitting the window
Froze my insides
No movement occurred in my body
Bang
The wind hit the windows
The windows sounded as if they were going to crack
The wind coming quickly
As a thief at night not wanting anyone to see him
The crunch of the branches
The air slowly creeping in from the windows
The destruction of ear was all that was heard
The hardest had past was the words of few
Leaving the house was where a gust of wind would greet you
The destruction of one important thing
Wind
Trees on the ground but this was just the beginning
To stand out in the cold wasn’t the worse
It was the people
People stealing
Houses gone
Left people out in the cold
No heat in the house
Left alone to fight against the cold
To wear five pants
Three shirts
Mittens
Hats
Five pair of socks
And where everyone said “cuddling season”
Just to stay in the house
Everything was okay when you were in heat
You left and the air hit your face as a fastball in baseball
It was a battle between your body and Mother Nature
Not everything went the way people wanted it to go
Days got harder
Then the news that a new storm was coming
This was heartbreaking to the one who knew that they still didn’t have power
I feared the day of the storm more than the wind
Which was a foolish thing to do
For people said it was going to hit the thirties
But the winds would hit twenty miles per hour in some parts
I knew that if I didn’t have heat then I was going to get sick
The storm came and we were left to go out and find a place that has heat
Every time the car door opened the air hit my face
Goosebumps filled my body
I began to shiver
This was my biggest fear
The coldness of what this hurricane had brought to us upon another storm
We went back home to a house that had power
This hurricane brought more than just wind
It brought destruction
It brought fear
The coldness made people sick
It was one of the most heated things in this hurricane
It made people feel as if they were going to die
Mother Nature brought her worst to us
And one of the things was pelting us with strong winds
This got most of us sick
Now people say many things were bad about this hurricane
Think about it though
Without the strong winds
And the temperature dropping
Would it have been that bad?
Ever since my arrival to Dunellen nine years ago, this was one of the two extreme natural disasters for me. The only other one was the flood last year, but it was mainly rain last year. This year was an extremely scary experience for me mainly because of the strong wind that hit my windows. When I was on the bed last Monday afternoon, I felt the house shook and heard bangs on the windows. On that first day, my generator was not working and for the whole entire day, darkness engulfed the house. My brother and I didn’t know where my mom put the candles, so we used our flashlight; however, that also died out within an hour. My brother and I gathered in the living room and just lay on the couch playing with our phone.
ReplyDeleteThe storm was something that I’ve never felt before for my whole entire life. The last time I felt the house shook was last year during the earthquake. Though, the fifteen second shake was nothing compared to the day long fear I felt for the tough wind hitting the house, trembling the house. Dunellen has always been a safe town, and living here for almost my whole entire life, I had never tasted the fear of natural disaster, such as this one. Also, my house lost power from that day till eight days after. The generator wasn’t working for the first day and I felt the need for electricity. The only light in the house after power lost was the light from the candle. I couldn’t even count how many candles we burned. Another thing related to electricity is the entertaining mechanicals, such as the television and the computer. It was awfully boring because there was nothing to do. I just sat on the couch listening to music on my IPod, which made me fast asleep. I couldn’t even read books because it was too dark and the candle light wasn’t bright enough. Though after that day, everything went back to normal, since our house’s generator started working and my brother hooked the generator up to the television, the heat, and the light. I basically had everything except for the internet, which was fine. I was just glad to have the TV back.
There was something that I was glad about the storm, which was that it provided time for my family to be together and spent time together. Due to the hurricane, no one in my family had to work for basically the whole entire week. We all bundled up in the living room, watching old television series, from the 1990’s. I felt that it brought my family closer than ever. Also, relatives from China and New York were calling to make sure that we were safe. It felt nice knowing that people actually cared for my family and me.
Sandy did a number on the entire coast line of the northeast. In particular it took New Jersey and handed it its worst disaster in history. The shore that New Jersey’s residents once loved so much is now just miles of barren and littered beaches. The boardwalk that people from New Jersey loved so much is now tossed all over the houses and it is even part of the ocean in some places now.
ReplyDeleteBut it was not only the beaches that were affected by this horrible disaster. It was really the people that were affected most by this crazy expression of Mother Nature. People were driven from their homes, forced to evacuate and in the worst cases hurt or killed. But most of us lost power and we were seeing and experiencing the effects it different ways.
My family and I in particular experienced the latter of these effects. We had prepared for the storm as best we could. We bought food and supplies, batteries and flashlights. But in the end none of that mattered. We were still in a cold, lightless house that was running out of things to keep us busy. Not to mention that the food that we bought beforehand had begun to go bad because we had no way of keeping it cool. Our fridges were beginning to lose their temperature and there was nowhere to get any ice because the supermarkets had run out of power as well.
But perhaps the final and worst part of the entire episode was the sudden rush for gas. Gas lines had reached an all-time high in the state and it was due not for shortages but again because of a lock of power at gas stations. I myself waited in line for 2 hours just to fill up one of my family’s cars.
In the end, however, the state will bounce back to a better state than it had been in before. The people will help rebuild the shore and the boardwalk, lost homes will be repaired and life will return to normal.
Sandy was quite the gal
ReplyDeleteShe came to New Jersey to find a friend
But destroyed most of the state in the end
The storm was quite powerful
Shaking homes and trees in its path
Some were lucky to miss its wrath
But others could not get out of its way
Many have ended up in an early grave from her force
She destroyed the coast along with our lives and has no remorse
This power was too much for our state to handle
We act as if were are powerful and scream jersey strong
But we are not, and now we hang the pictures of the dead over our mantel
Mourning their loss and hoping they went to where they belong
We must realize our limitations knowing what we cannot stand against
This being one of those things, but we must rise and rebuild
From this damage we must fix for it is immense
Homes can be fixed no matter how many cracks and leaks need to be filled
This instance will make our state stronger
But not in a physical sense we will be stronger mentally
We now know how to deal with these disasters and make sure the relief doesn’t take any longer
We will push together and strive through things like people should
We fought and bickered over the little things that we lost or could not get
Like gasoline or power and heat which when we have we make light
These were our childish acts that are shameful all because our demands could not be met
I am ashamed these problems happened when they could have been avoided but instead we chose to fight
It is shameful that violence is what we resort too
We are the strongest species on the planet but we act like animals
If we did none of those actions we can pull through
But instead we act as barbarians and scrap over simple things
Hurricane Sandy ruined my life. All I expected from this storm was falling trees. But after Sandy, my life fell into pieces. The emotional toll that this storm took was too much for me to handle. You might be thinking how a storm could do this, but it’s all about timing. I didn’t have electricity for two weeks. Two miserable long and cold weeks went by; I just sat by the fire and cried till I passed out. I couldn’t eat, sleep, talk, anything. Not even the tree that fell on our house bothered me; I just brushed it off like nothing happened.
ReplyDeleteIt’s funny to think how having no electricity can piss off a whole family to the point where verbal and physical fights occurred. I couldn’t handle it so I just left. It was that easy, the streets were pitch black but I wasn’t scared. If someone hurt me then that would be the first time I could feel something rather than this overwhelming guilt. Knowing how much I hurt him makes it worth feeling this way. I DESERVE to feel this way. There’s no avoiding it, and there’s no stopping it.
On a lighter note, Hurricane Sandy wasn’t all bad. She made me realize how important life is, and how much one should treasure it. This is why I’m looking on the bright side of all this mess I call my life. You make a mistake and you learn, plus happiness will shine through to the ones that deserve it. Sooner or later everyone will forget and move on. Unfortunately, in this town it’s hard for people to do that. It’s like we live in the twilight zone. One person’s problem becomes someone else’s problem, and then you got the whole town on your back. That’s the problem with small towns, you’re either an outcast or everyone is in your business. One mistake and you’re done, welcome to Dunellen.
This is the article that I am working on.
ReplyDeleteIn Dunellen High School there are many clubs and activities that students can participate in. Everyone knows about football and Drama club, but there are other activities that are available. One of these clubs is Biology club. You do not have to be taking a biology class in order to be in this club it’s open to everyone. In this club they do many activities, but there are two which the club does every year; Earth Day and dissection. To be accepted as an official member of the biology club you must attend three of its meetings, and you must pay a five dollar due. The point of paying to become a member is because the biology club doesn’t have many fund raising opportunities so this is so that we can start the year out with some money in the account.
There are officers and officials for the club. The officers are elected by the bio club members. Each candidate gives a speech at one of the bio club meetings. After that the members vote on who they would like to be the president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. This year the president is Brenda. The vice president is Paige, the secretary is Stephen Van Ness, and the treasurer is (Yet to be decided.) The officials who are running the club are the two biology teachers at Dunellen High school, Ms. Bodak and Ms. Garni.
In Biology club you get the privilege to do many activities like dissecting. The club holds a dissection every year. When you vote for the officers for the club, you also vote for what animal you want to dissect that year. There are frogs, pigs, and rabbits on the list. This is an experience that can help students who want to go into life science or biology because you actually get to see inside an animal. Also we have Earth Day. On Earth Day the biology club gets to be excused from their class and go outside to redecorate and clean up on the school grounds. They plant flowers, pull out weeds, and re-mulch everything. This time is probably the best time that you can have in the club. Also every year the bio club purchases shirts that have biology club and then the year that it is, which in this case would be 2012-2013. On these shirts there is also a design that makes the shirt not another just boring shirt. The bio club also plans trips for the year. Sometimes they can’t go on any of the trips because they do not have money, but they plan cool trips to zoo’s or museums. In all the biology club is a fun club to belong to.
New Jersey will never be the same. The worst hurricane to ever hit New Jersey destroyed houses all along the Jersey Shore and left trees uprooted and millions without power. There has also been a gas shortage because of the storm that brings back memories of the 1970’s energy crisis. My story goes like this, it was Monday and it already somewhat windy and wet. Coverage about Sandy was all over the news and people were evacuating towns on the Jersey Shore. I thought that sandy was going to be like last year’s storm, Irene. Christie told everybody to evacuate the shore and after the storm, the shore didn’t get damaged badly. As I was saying, during Sandy I was wondering why we weren’t getting a lot of rain when the news said we were supposed to get a good six or seven inches. We then found out that Sandy was going to be more of a wind storm than a rain storm. We watched from our living room as the storm got bad when the sun went down. The wind was really blowing and we had the TV on a candles lit just in case. Then the power went out, and I had no idea how long it would be until we got it back. At about ten we all decided to go to bed. The next morning we woke up and saw leaves and branches down everywhere. We drove around town and saw giant trees on people’s houses and everywhere you look there were trees. We listened to NJ 101.5 on the radio which we had a lot of batteries for and learned that the Jersey Shore was obliterated, and also New York City. Atlantic City was flooded and the boardwalk destroyed, the famous Fun town Pier in Seaside Heights got destroyed. Mantoloking was gone and gas fires had popped up and burned down remaining houses. All transportation was shut down as the NYC Subway was flooded and commuter rail was also down, Lower Manhattan was also flooded. Hoboken and Jersey City were also flooded. We were so shocked to hear that New Jersey had been beaten down. Then the whole gas thing started where most gas stations had no power so there were hour-long lines at gas stations and then odd-even gas days went into effect. We were out of power for six days as we lived and died by candlelight and only had all our food in a little icebox. Going to bed at nine or ten for six days felt really weird as there was nothing to do without power. I believe that the people of New Jersey now know the power of a strong storm and how it can destroy the amenities that people depend on. I know that I do.
ReplyDeleteDuring hurricane sandy I was at my house here in Dunellen New Jersey I was chilling just watching TV. I wasn’t even paying attention to the storm that was happening outside. I was about to watch Monday night football when suddenly my power went out, my family and I didn’t had light for 10 days with no electricity my heater couldn’t turn on so it was cold inside my house it felt like if I was outside as well because of the coldness that was in my crib, you could even see your own breath. Also without any power I didn’t paid mind to what was happening in the outside world of Dunellen. Throughout the coastal areas on New Jersey basically everything got demolished. Millions or even more went into damage on just the coastal areas let’s not talk about the whole state. In those 10 days without power I was bored with nothing to do but clean my house and chill take care of my little sister. I was literally in a struggle but then again I thought and for a moment I said I’m not the only one in this mess everyone is not just in New Jersey. Basically hurricane sandy F all us over and broke us literally. At night with no TV or anything I actually went to sleep early it wasn’t even 9 yet when I’m covered up in two blankets in my bed knockout already. During the day I used to do the same things just sleep and when night came I couldn’t even sleep. Thanks to one of my mother’s friend he gave us a generator so we won’t be suffering from the cold especially my little sister I mean my mom and I could resist the cold but not a little girl that’s not even 2 Ft. yet .
ReplyDeleteAlthough most people would complain about loss of power, the most devastating aspect of Super Storm Sandy was the howling wind. My grandmother got power back that Wednesday, while my house was still dark. We were over for a visit and talking about the storm. She said of all her 79 years, she had never heard wind like that…and she never wants to hear it again. This proves that nothing like this storm has seen the state of New Jersey in a long time. And it also implies that we weren’t prepared for it, possibly a reason Sandy cause so much damage.
ReplyDeleteThe 80 mile an hour winds caused devastation to every town that Sandy touched. The wind toppled trees, blew off roofs, and sent power lines to the ground. Because of the trees in the power lines, electricity was nearly impossible to restore. The lines and trees blocked off streets, making transportation extremely difficult. Some houses are still without power because of the wind and the down lines.
Sandy ruined lives and destroyed houses, mostly thanks to the violent gusts. But if this is what category 1 hurricane and tropical storm winds can do, what would a category 2 storm bring? How about 3? New Jersey would be devastated forever. At least after this storm, there is potential for the coastal state to come back from the ashes. But that could take a very long time.
The gusts that the storm brought were demoralizing and tragic. Hopefully the states of New Jersey and New York can come back from this disaster and be more prepared for the next storm that Mother Nature has to offer.
Hurricane Sandy was considered a natural disaster, towns and people’s houses got ruined. Having no power for one week was boring and cold, but I felt that it was kind of fun. I always thought that if there were more people in the house than it wouldn’t be as boring then it really is .It kind of brought the family closer and gave us a chance to open up and actually talk to each other. During the storm, I live in a two family house and the tenants that live in the back, so their roof started to come up so we go scared that it would come off and hit into my brothers room. The first two days with no power my brother and I helped my mom clean the back yard because we had two big trees fall down. Than my dad and brother were fixing the tenants roof for them. The rest of the week my brother’s friends would come over and make jokes and just hang out. Than my mom and I would go to her friend’s hotel room and just stay there for the day. I was mostly at my dad’s house because he had power before Dunellen did. So I stayed there for a couple days with my older cousin and my two baby cousins. When I was at home my mom brother and I would watch movies in the car and charge everything. We had to go out to eat fast food every day because the food in our fridge and freezer was gone. I’m thankful that I just have a house to live in when other people probably lost everything. The fast food and gas stations were making the most money they ever had because people had no food so they had go out and buy it, and people needed to get gas for their generators, and cars.
ReplyDeleteHurricane Irene and Hurricane Sandy were two different kinds of storms. After Irene, my parents were determined to be prepared for the next hurricane. I didn’t realize how powerful she really was until my power went out, transformers started blowing up, and trees were falling over like dominoes. Irene caused us to lose our power too, but only for about two or three days. Sandy knocked my power out for about two weeks. The result of the hurricane was devastating, Seaside was basically under water, Hoboken and Long Island were also destroyed. Me being a teenager and all, I missed my power and my technology. I couldn’t text or get phone calls in my house or on my street. As soon as the lights went out, my mom was more than ready. She had candles, about six flashlights, lanterns, the whole nine yards, it helped that she was prepared. At night, everything was pitched black. My parents were smart and got a generator after Irene. The generator allowed us to charge our phones, plug up the television, which had no cable, operate a lamp, and one heater, and we had a home landline. The bad part about this was that we all slept in one room. I slowly began losing my mind, because I can’t spend too much time with my parents because then they start getting on my nerves. We came close to almost killing each other a few times, but it wasn’t that bad. I wasn’t looking at the walls all day, like other people having nothing or even a house to live in. Not having barely any communication with people over the course of the storm and after the storm, allowed me to do a lot of thinking. I thought about school, better ways to handle situations and when I got back in contact with certain I applied those thoughts. When Irene hit, I had friends who had power so I stayed with them, with Sandy almost all of my friends lost power. The process of power being restored was just like the waiting game. I feel like PSE&G could have done a better job at trying to turn peoples’ power back on. My power was restored Sunday night, and I can’t explain how happy I was. Then Tuesday night, Obama was re-elected, so overall the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy was positive, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteHurricanes that were of the same extent as Sandy are considered to be a rarity in New Jersey. We are a state that is normally thought to be immune to natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes or even strong hurricanes; however this super storm most likely altered our outlook on the effect that forces of nature can have on our state that we previously thought to be improbable. The hurricane proved that no one or thing can be exempted from the wills of nature. Sandy was a storm that ravaged entire communities with its high winds and storm surges that were unheard of in this area of the country. The winds especially were influential in the damage that can be seen throughout Dunellen.
ReplyDeleteDunellen’s experience throughout Hurricane Sandy was nothing short of traumatizing, trying, and difficult. Throughout the state and everywhere else affected, the hurricane tested citizens’ abilities to cope and adapt to the hazards and destruction that Sandy initiated. For some, the storm brought complete obliteration of their homes or for a few unfortunate people, even death. Although most lost power, after witnessing and being exposed to news of the devastations of entire communities, people appeared to be grateful for their situation, despite their loss of electricity. The storm may have brought a number of detrimental hazards to the state, but the citizens seemed to retain a sense of unity and hope that aided in the recovery and hopeful return to normalcy for the people. Determination and the resiliency of the citizens were displayed when people still went out to vote for the next president despite the damage and desolation around them. New Jersey may be forever changed by Sandy, but if one beneficial aspect can be drawn from this catastrophe, it is that the spirit and true colors of the people that experienced it were shown in a new light.
“Do you want me to go get him for you?”
ReplyDeleteI ran my fingers along the handle of the knife. I shrugged to him in response and he left the room. I still felt nothing.
----- walked into the room and sat across from me on the other side of the island. I didn’t look up as he sat down, I just stared at the knife. I felt a sudden chill. The kitchen seemed so cold now.
“What’s wrong?” he whispered, leaning down, trying to catch my eye. I could hear the lack of concern in his voice. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Why should he care about me when he has her? My fingers moved up to the blade.
He let out a loud sigh when he realized I wasn’t going to answer. “Are you going to answer me or should I just leave?” His voice was hard, as if I were the one being ridiculous in this situation.
I looked up at him, my stare was like ice when I caught his eye. “Fuck you.” I said. Two simple words full of poison. The expression on his face turned to surprise because he knew that I meant it.
We both sat there quietly for what felt like a century. I picked up knife and held it so that only the point was touching the table. I spun it slowly. “Why are you even here?” I asked, trying to sound like I wanted him to leave. Which I did, but at the same time, I didn’t.
“----- told me that something was wrong, so I came to talk to you.” He said, and suddenly his voice was softer.
“You decided to talk to me now? After ignoring me for days you decided to talk to me now?” Tears started to form in my eyes and my voice got really high. “You said all that stuff to me. Things I’ll never forget and now you just pretend like they didn’t mean anything. How can you say that? How can you say those things don’t mean anything?” I couldn’t hold them back, and the tears started to fall uncontrollably.
“---- I was drunk when I said those things. I didn’t mean them, it was just a-,”
“Don’t dare say mistake,” I hissed to him through my tears.
The effects of sandy have left me in shambles. The ten miserable days without power and the endless nights of just staring into darkness. I prepared myself for her and her strong power but I wasn’t enough, sandy came and threw up around but we stayed strong. Towns cane together and fought together. Sandy, she was a wild woman that broke down doors and became a home wrecker. Mother Nature has punished us once again for taking advantage of her. Mother has had enough of her children walking all over her and abusing her. She put her foot down and took out the jersey shore because it was just filled with filth. We had become sneaky and Mother Nature had finally caught on. Sandy has pushed us around and torn us down. The stress she put us through had me at boiling point. The hardest part was sitting in the dark day after day. Sometimes losing track of what day it even was. Those times when you wake up in the middle of the night or so you think, and don’t even know what time it is .People have lost their houses and yeah that’s very hard to deal with but think about the ones who have lost a family member that’s just something you cannot get back. A house you can rebuild, or buy a new one. A person cannot be replaced or brought back. People have nothing better to do other tan complain.
ReplyDeleteOde to Sandy
ReplyDeleteSandy wasn’t taken seriously, we thought that the damage would be minor but we were wrong. The power kept going on and off around 7 at night so all of us went upstairs to get some things before it completely turned off. Everyone gathered blankets, extra clothing, shoes, and my niece and nephew grabbed their favorite toys. I was the last one to walk down the stairs and when I hit bottom all the power went off. My dad and uncles turned on the flashlights and my mom and I lit up the candles. The power went out around as so it said on my phone. I looked outside and it was pitch black and people with their flashlight. The boys went outside to turn on the generator and they loved the weather for some reason because they stayed out there for a while. My dog was so scared that he didn’t want to go outside and everywhere I went he followed and my nephew either had to have me or his mom by his side until he fell asleep or he cried. Everyone felt safer and less worried for the fact that everyone was in the same room together. When they turned the generator on all we plugged in was the one lamp in the living room and the refrigerator. We thanked God that we had a gas heater in the living room too so that the kids wouldn’t get sick, and to think that we wanted to get rid of it a long time ago. What amazed us was the sky bursting out into different colors like blue, red, and white. We have never seen something like that when there was thunder other than Irene. The first day wasn’t so bad but we couldn’t get enough sleep thinking that because of the strong wind the tree would come down on top us. We didn’t get powered restored until Sunday evening which wasn’t that much of a problem since we had the generator. Days without power were hectic, everyone at the house got annoyed with each other, and some people weren’t even paying for gas when they were using the generator too. People in town were panicking I could tell, some lady came around and said that we should stack up on a lot of water because if they don’t turn the power on by the next day that they were going to shut down all the water coming through and also my neighbors had their generator stolen from their backyard late at night. We all know that we are useless without cellphones and electricity and that we take things like this for granted. Some of us were lucky to have generators but some of us weren’t and some of us had to struggle finding a place to get gas and to wait in line. Some gas stations are out of gas for two weeks.
Hurricane Sandy is the worst storm I have ever lived through. I am usually excited about storm because I love the rain but this storm was different. I was the one who said that everyone was over exaggerating the severity of the storm and that it would just be like any other storm. I was looking forward to my street flooding and watching idiots try to drive through the water. I wanted the sheets of rain coming down and drenching everything in sight. Whatever. This storm was totally different. I was pretty upset when it did not rain very much but the wind did scare me. We, and by we I mean my parents, brother and I, were sitting in our family room when suddenly there was a huge bang. My brother and I jumped up to see what had just hit my house. We opened up my side door, between my neighbor’s and my house was like a wind tunnel. Sitting in front of our door was a piece of shingles about a foot long. It had flown off our neighbor’s house because of the wind. That was the first terrifying moment of my life. The second moment was when the power went out. I was expecting us to lose it at some point because the light had been flickering all during the storm. The problem was that once it went out for good, I had no idea what to do. It was 7:45 pm and the lights had been out for about fifteen minutes and I just sat on my couch wondering what we were supposed to do for the rest of the night. My mom told me that I could go to sleep but I did not want to.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of my time in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy was pretty routine. I would get up late every day, do nothing all day and then go to my aunt’s house because she still had power. It was boring.
The part of Hurricane Sandy that affected me the most was the devastation to the Jersey Shore. I have been looking through pictures of my beach town and seeing houses that I walk by every day when I’m at the beach being completely destroys destroys me. I have seen pictures of the house I stay in with my family and it does not look like there is that much damage, compared to other houses. It makes me upset thinking about how people say that the Jersey Shore will never be the same. I have faith in everyone working down there that they will rebuild.
I sprawled out on my chair trying to fall asleep. The wind bashed against the window next to me. Each big gust would make our house creak sending chills up my spine. On the opposite side of the street a branch fell on four cars totaling three of them. I was just waiting for our house to be the next thing hit. My dad tried lying back on the couch hoping that his own house would be able to withstand the wind. My sister also laid on the catch with my brother occupying the other chair. My mom went upstairs since there was no other room. We all just lay down and tried to close our eyes. Blackness was everywhere. There were absolutely no lights anywhere on our street. It was kind of difficult not to be scared, but I finally closed my eyes and went to sleep.
ReplyDeleteIn the morning we all woke up to see that our house was still standing. No major damages were really done to our house except an Oak tree snapping and falling far back in our backyard. For the next three days me and my dad tried chopping up the tree and taking it out to our curb to be picked up whenever. We were all lucky that it wasn’t that cold when we lost power. If we lost power now it would be a lot worse for all of us. And since we had no power, at nights I felt like I was just wasting my time since I was doing nothing. I just played games with my parents around the light of a small gas powered lamp. I knew I had so many more important things to do that I just couldn’t do.
A power outage can be something that many look forward to. It may be seen as a time to sit together with family next a fire, read by candle light and enjoy the peaceful life without any electronic distractions. That didn’t seem to be the case for my household when Hurricane Sandy viciously attacked the east coast. The whole town of Dunellen was brutally ripped of its precious electricity, leaving many stuck indoors without heat or many sources of entertainment. My house, specifically, was left without these luxuries for eight whole days, leaving us with restless, frozen night and days of being crammed around the fireplace with an unusually irritable group of Allens.
ReplyDeleteThe house its self, bared few injuries in the disaster after only a tree falling on its side, shifting the wall a bit and crushing some of the roof. Unfortunately, the habitants inside were left with one severe disability: boredom. A mother, relying on texting to communicate with her distanced friends and keep occupied, became easily frustrated with the lack of cell phone service within the house. A father that grew angry at any whimper or complaint, demanded help of his unenthusiastic children to clear the property of the freshly fallen trees. A twenty-three year old son that practically lived in his computer paced back and forth, grunting and growling at the thought of days without his precious internet or games and cursing at the darkness that preventing him from reading. Lastly, a daughter, left to bare the pains that were her family members, finding refuge in the times she could escape to the car to charge her phone. This mixture of grumpy, unrested individuals spelled out disaster for my hurricane break from school. Sitting through all of that for two weeks, I cannot deny that I am a bit happy to finally return back here at Dunellen High School.
i only went through two hurricanes and that was hurricane irene and the recent one hurricane sandy me and my family drove through neighboring towns and saw the damage that hurricane sandy had done. trees down but the worst damage that i have seen and heard about is the jersey shore with the rides under water lives lost and inches of water devestated the people who lived near there and for the people who lost their loved ones to sandy this storm put people on there houses because it was flooded it had the towns out of power for days you couldn't find a store that was open lines for gas were blocks long all of your food gone bad due to no refrigeration bags of ice were rare but hard to find then i was siiting down in my parents room and i heard a noise on sunday then i looked at my cable box and seen that it had said something and when that's when i knew that i had power back and i knew that i was fortunate but so many people were not because they did not have lights and the first thing i did was i started for the tv as fast as i could because i havent had technology for a week and that is awfull and after that i would wait to see if we had school or not that was one of the good things about having no power is no school but no power means that you are bored out of your mind that is my summary on hurricane sandy
ReplyDeleteThe wind outside was roaring, trying to rip the tiny home apart. The family that lived there huddled inside. Their electronics were all plugged in, trying to charge them as much as they could. The lights flickered and the daughter yelped. “Sandy’s going to knock out our lights soon,” the mother noted. The father nodded and went downstairs to get their generator.
ReplyDelete“Sandy better not knock out the power! I’m still watching T.V.!” The daughter huffed. The windows rattled and the mother stared outside.
“Let’s just hope that your room doesn’t flood again,” she stated worriedly. The daughter winced at the memory of her room flooding.
They sat in silence, watching the television until the father came back up. “Do you need help Dad?” the daughter asked.
Grunting, he struggled to gently place the generator down. Once he accomplished this he gave his daughter a smile. “Thanks honey, but you need to help your mother when the power goes out. I’ll have your brother help me set up the generator when the storm calms down.”
The daughter gave her father a questioning look, “Where is our brave firefighter anyway?”
“Saving idiots who don’t obey evacuation orders,” the mother grumbled. The father chuckled as he sat down next to her on the couch. The daughter shrugged and turned her attention back to the glowing screen of the television. Bang! A flash a green light brightened up the sky near the window, and the power went out. The daughter shouted and went to the window to try to catch a glimpse of the green light that had already disappeared.
The mother laughed nervously, “There goes the power.”
Placing a deck of cards on the table the father called out, “How about a card game?” Racing from her spot by the window, the daughter quickly sat down at the table.
“Uno! Let’s play Extreme Uno!” she cried out in excitement. The two parents joined their daughter at the table. The father began to lazily shuffle the cards. The daughter fidgeted in her seat, “C’mon! Hurry up Dad!” He gave her a mischievous look and shuffled even slower. Giggling, the daughter cried, “You’re doing this on purpose!”
The mother grinned, “Well, at least Sandy gave us something good.”
The daughter gave her mom a curious look. “What’s that Mom?”
The mother looked around the table and gratefully said, “Quality time with each other.”
“The worst thing that you could do in storm is to go outside and walk around. Everybody please stay inside!” this is what I heard right before going out into the worst part of the storm. It was my brother, Noah, and I and we were in for some trouble, Sandy was ready for us. We put our head lights on and took a step outside, the door whipped back and would have broken if I didn’t catch it. We took our first steps onto the street and wind pushed us back, but we were strong, we kept walking. We made it down the block when my friend got a call from his dad and decided to stop walking and answer it right by a car. “What the f*ck are you doing?” we heard from a man that was inside of the house that we were standing in front of. We said nothing and walked away. As we got about 3 blocks away from there we saw headlights behind us, then we saw the red and blue, it was the cops. They pulled over and ran out of the car yelling at us, then another cop car came, and then another and before you knew it, there were 10 cops cars there and all of the police were yelling at us. They searched us and asked if we were out stealing things out of cars. We said no and then we found out the guy that yelled at me called the cops on us and said that we were breaking into cars. Then while the cops were yelling at us, the tree behind us started to fall and the cops backed up and we ran away and while we were running, the cop yelling and said that if we got caught out again that we would be arrested. So we went home and stayed in the house for the night.
ReplyDeleteOde to Sandy
ReplyDeleteHer whooshing winds shook the house, but we were safe and sound
We were left in the cold with no electricity to heat us
There was no hot water to take a nice warm shower
the house felt dead and quiet without the noises of the television
Walking around, I would sometimes get myself scared
I was lucky to have a book to read
musical instruments to play
and battery-opperated speakers
And I was lucky for my lack of sight
because I don’t depend on the light
One day, I had a breakdown
One moment I wanted to disappear from the world
One moment I wanted to destroy everything I could
One moment I laughed at everything
I wanted to jump off a building
I wanted to go skydiving
Then, I screamed and screamed my heart out!
I tried to make up a song about this very breakdown
“I think I need to go to a psych ward, I feel like I’m being possessed. I really need to go to a psych ward, I’m not feeling my best.”
Johnny Cash was my favorite singer that day
Either I needed that 50’s country
or maybe his music just matched the way I felt
I drained up all the batteries
and I was lucky they didn’t completely die
Another particular day
I went to my grandparents’ house with my parents and aunt
We took hot showers
since they had power
After that we ate
And I wanted to get out fast
because the house wreeked of wilting flowers
Later that night, I watched “The Sixth Sense”
I always wanted to see it
Then, I went on a candy craze
Even later, my father had “Jaws” on his laptop
I started watching, but grew bored
Thanks to the gas stove
we were able to boil pots of water
Eventually, the house was 70 degrees!
It was amazing!
Sometimes, I feel guilty for complaining
The loss of power was nothing compared to other places
We could have still had no power
We could have lost our house
We could have lost cars
We could have died in a fire
Some of us could have died
Though Some people had it better than us
We were more fortunate than others
After the power outage
for two nights in a row
people came over for dinner
We cooked everything in the house
but I was never hungry
because I ate too much candy
I needed exercise
and I needed it baddly
After being cooped up in the house
not being active
it was good to get up and leave for school this morning
ReplyDeleteSandy did many damages in Dunellen such as ruining homes, losing love ones and changing people. For example people who survived hurricane Sandy made people appreciate the small things they have and how lucky they are to even survive this tragic incident. In my opinion the hurricane didn’t affect me even if it did me as an older brother had to show no fear. The only people that was getting affected was my little brother and my mother were worried if we would be in danger so my mom decided to prepare for the worse. While we all slept in the living room because my house has 3 floors and my mom was scare of my roof being blown off. As I woke up the next morning I was surprise how there was no sound of the wind outside and I was also grateful to have made out alive. The power was out the whole road had lost power minority of the people were in their pajamas walking around to see the damage that this hurricane did. The only thing that wasn’t usual for me was how much family bonding I had we laughed and had a dumb times reminiscing about the old days but then it got boring doing the same thing for the past week. The only thing that got me annoyed was that people can be so greedy especially with their generators. People would like to take the easy way out and think about themselves. I mean I get it if it was an emergency that they have to use it but people that had it would like to show it off and would be so selfish that you can see all their lights in their house I felt as though it was rude so I was planning on blowing them shits up but no I didn’t do it im a kind person.
A low toned beep echoed through the police station as the doors slowly slid open. Two cops, uniforms stained with dark dry blood. Between them they dragged a man inside, holding him up by his elbows. The toes of his boots scraped against the floor as the men in the white uniforms took him past the clerk’s glass desk and
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI have only two words for Super Storm Sandy.. Screw you! These past couple of days have been pure torture because of this storm. I have learned how much people rely on technology and electricity. I was like a crazy person trying to preserve the battery on my phone and trying to find places where I can charge my phone. I used the car charger, I used my friends’ generators, I used everything. Another bad thing was that my mom and brother were stuck in Oregon for four extra days. Every time they got a new flight it was cancelled. My mom was getting so mad that said if their flight got cancelled one more time she was going to cry. I felt really bad for her and all she wanted to do was come back home and be with her family.
There were a few good things about this storm, like the fact that my grandfather, who lives in Piscataway, had power so I was able to spend a few nights there with heat, television and food. Another thing that was not that bad was that I got to hang out with the friends I use to spend a lot of time with, all the kids on my street. We all got together at one of our houses and played Apples to Apples, Monopoly (which I hate), and Life. It was like we were all ten years old again and it ended up being a lot of fun.
I feel like that when situations like Super Storm Sandy occur, it brings people together. It brings people together because you either sit at home by yourself or you go out and sit with friends, so in a way you kind of have no choice to get together with people. But, although this storm had a few horrible parts, there were also some good parts that I really enjoyed.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis piece would have a good title if I wasn’t interrupted while I was
DeleteBy Stephen Van Ness
“Knock knock,” the storm says to me.
I walk to the door. “Who’s there?” I ask. “I’m kinda busy… watching a TV show I’ve been wanting to see for the past couple weeks.”
“It is I, the interrupting hurricane!”
“The interrupting hurric…“ All of a sudden my television switches off. I stand alone in a dark room, with no power. “Ah, bleh!” I cry. “So much for that! Guess I’m gonna have to do something else with myself.”
Well, a day with no power became two, two days became three, and before I knew it I had missed two full weeks of school. Suddenly, one day, it came on! I went over to my friend’s house to finally watch the TV show. I sit down on the couch, and fifteen minutes pass by. Then, I hear a voice.
“Knock knock,” says a person who is driving a PSENG truck.
I walk over to the door once more. “Who’s there?” I ask. “I’m kinda busy… watching a TV show I’ve been wanting to see for the past many weeks!”
“It is I, the interrupting PSENG truck!”
“The interrupting PS…” All of a sudden, the television switches off. I stand in a dark room, with no power. “Ah, bleh!” I cry. “Guess I’m gonna have to go home where there’s power!”
I get home, and put in a movie to watch with my brother. We are nearing the end, when all of a sudden, I hear a voice.
“Knock knock,” says the same person who was driving the PSENG truck.
I walk over to the door, tiring of this repetitive interruption. “Who’s there?” I ask reluctantly. “I’m kinda busy… watching a movie I’ve been wanting to see for a while.”
“It is I, the interrupting PSENG truck once more! And you are next!”
“The interrupt…” All of a sudden, the television switches off. I stand in a dark room, with no power. “Ah, bleh!” I cry. “You know, this would be a great idea for a story!”
I sit down at my table, and pull out my battery operated laptop and begin to write.
I write for a while, and write well
Wait a moment…
There’s someone at the door.
Sandy was a storm that was fiercer than anyone could have ever expected. My family was fortunately one of the people prepared. I have tall trees all around my house that my parents fear would come down on and crush the house. I moved down to sleep on the couch the night the storm hit, even though I really never went to sleep. When the storm hit I moved a chair in front of my window to watch the wind whip the trees back and forth. Then the sky began to light up with bright blue flashes, at first I thought it was lightning then I realized that it was transformers blowing up all over the town. Finally around 8:30 the light finally went out and stayed out. I went to sleep about an hour after the power went out just because of boredom. Luckily the next day I woke up and found out that my grandparents had power still. After I drove around Dunellen and Middlesex for a while to see the damage that sandy did I went home and packed up some cloths and a tooth brush and went over to my grandparents in Piscataway. As soon as we got there we turned on the news and looked at the damage that was done to the Jersey shore, we were in shock. The Jersey shore that I had gone to my whole life was left in ruin. Every iconic land mark down the shore was either completely destroyed or still under the flood water. They showed pictures of how people’s homes were completely ripped off their foundation and everything they owned was completely destroyed. I can’t imagine the emotions that people were feeling when they saw that everything was gone. Everyone is hurting from Sandy and this will pull people together and make New jersey better.
ReplyDeleteSandy was something that I have never experienced before
ReplyDeleteThe powerful winds, flooded streets, and dark sky
The clouds and rumbling noises that would not cease
Trying to find comfort but instead just being filled with fear
Sitting in the dark with family being nearby
Phone lines that are down so there is no way to call the outer world
Sitting in confusion wondering how others are in this disaster
Next day the noises stop and the sky has become clear
Winds aren’t beating at my front door anymore
Look out of my window to see a disaster unfold in front of me
Trees fallen down and so are lines
Electricity is out and homes are broken everyone is running around in complete confusion
Every store down and every gas line long
People were gone for hours trying to find things to keep their food cold
Power comes back and everyone learns of the affects in the rest of the state
Some people are gone and have been washed away with the tide
Others are stuck up in the houses and with the necessities of life
Some don’t even have a place to return to and their home washed away with their memories
Other homes destroyed beyond repair but still sit in their spots
People gone missing and barely any hope of them being found
Mass hysteria is the only thing that hasn’t raised, but people look to one for help
Mr. President comes to soothe our nerves, but most see it as no help
Society slowly comes back to normal, but many things will never return
Many have no power and still live in the dark
Other people are feeling the cold and wish for a rewind button
Though we’ll never get it we can still try to prepare ourselves for the future
We all can look toward our memories of this disaster as we all drive out to our old attractions
And see the sand of where the places we have always known to be the Jersey Shore, Boardwalk, and Coney Island
That one rollar coaster at Seaside Heights is still in the water.
DeleteHurricane Sandy to me would be considered a major bitch. She is somebody who I wished would not have happened. I had no freaking power for days and was completely bored out of my mind. Everyday around 3 o’clock my brother and I would play inside baseball with a plastic ball and a wooden bat. I was hitting homeruns for days. I was the Jackie Robinson from the Brooklyn dodgers because I’m colored just like he was and is. The whole week it was either hanging out with friends or hanging with friends and getting ice cream wasted at the same damn time which is pretty awesome if you were me. Right in front of my house I saw a huge house fall on top of a house which I thought it was funny because I don’t get along with the guys that live there. Instead of worrying about their house they tried to stare me and my brother down but that didn’t work one little bit. The hurricane sucked very much and I lost power for days but I had a generator so it wasn’t that bad, but during the night it was very dark and also dangerous because people were getting robbed and things were getting stolen.
ReplyDeleteSandy came and she left. She left us behind like animals, she trashed house and cancelled Halloween. No one was prepared for sandy to come and think it was going to be bad like it was. Some people wore scared some people wore ready, not everyone took it seriously especially in New Jersey. I was ready for hurricane sandy because I wasn’t going to be stuck home and be bored for a day. I had my movies and my hookah and I was set for the night. Sandy was angry she wasn’t nice she left us without power and with filthy water. People lost family members and people lost their homes. New Jersey had a lot of trees fall down and that caused the power lines to fall down. Also the transformers wore blowing up because the water and the wind affected it. Sandy why did you do all that we didn’t do anything bad to you. The day after the hurricane I went to drive around and every road that I went to was closed because a tree was blocking the road or because there wore wires on the street and it was dangerous to cross because people could have got killed. The hurricane affected Jersey Shore the most because water was pushing up on the street and destroyed the board walk and a lot of houses. New Jersey was damaged by this massive hurricane that came and took every little thing that was in its way. It took houses it took cars it took trees it had no mercy. This hurricane would be remembered and next time people should be ready for any hurricane that comes our way because you never know what is going to hit you. Hurricane sandy you may damage us but you would never hurt us.
ReplyDelete