Russ's Ravings: The Sandy Flashbacks No One Wanted But We All Got

Editor's note: The following is Patch Field Editor Russ Crespolini's, hopefully, weekly column. It is reflective of his opinion alone.

As I sit here writing this column my generator sounds like a buzz saw cutting storm debris in my driveway a few feet from my office window. This tiny natural gas beauty was a memento from Superstorm Sandy, the second time in as many years I spent two weeks in the dark with no power and no water.

But things are different this time.

Now I have a generator. So I have lights and I have water and I have food that won't spoil. But I still don't have internet. Four days in, and I am tethered to the one bar of service my cell phone provides me.

The generator also doesn't provide enough juice to run my air conditioner. So it is kind of like working in the heat and humidity of my old college apartment on a dial-up connection. Today it took my almost a minute and a half to download one stock photo of rain.

So if you come across that story be appreciative of the effort.

And speaking of appreciation, we should probably spend some of that out to the linemen who are working to restore our services and get us back in track.

So things are also the same this time.

My wife and daughter fled for powered pastures elsewhere, and I am here holding down the fort with the cats. Same fort. Different cats.

But when I think back at my time covering Sandy while living through Sandy, I have an overwhelming sense of comfort. Because it was during that time I saw so much good in people.

I remember working out of the Sweet Spot Bake Shoppe in Chester because they were one of the few places that had power. I remember showering at my gym because I had no water at home. I remember so many people going out of their way to help one another. To check on the elderly and vulnerable and the sick. I remember so many inspiring and amazing things happening in each town as each crew worked to restore our civilized way of life.

But things are also really different this time.

This time, we are in the middle of a global pandemic. There will be no eatery for me to get Wi-Fi and sugar shock from. There is no gym for me to shower at because they are all closed due to COVID-19.

The nerves of my family and friends and neighbors and readers were shot months ago. This is like touching a nerve with a live wire. My inbox is full of people asking for help I can't give. And I, at times, feel the collective weight of the last six months pressing on my chest with large simian hands making it hard to breathe.

The Sandy flashbacks are strong and visceral.

But there is still good in there to hold on to. So I am going to try my best to remember that. Once I file this column I will check in on some people. Make fun of a few others on the internet. And then service the generator I am fortunate to have.

Nerves are frayed and anger is quick to come and blaming others is often a first line of defense. But it is also divisive.

I remember Chris Christie hugging Barack Obama when he came to New Jersey. I remember my colleagues banding together to make sure everyone was safe and secure.

What I remember from Sandy is not a choice. What I focus my attention on is.

Russ Crespolini is a Field Editor for Patch Media, adjunct professor and college newspaper advisor. His columns have won awards from the National Newspaper Association and the New Jersey Press Association.

He writes them in hopes of connecting with readers and engaging with them. And because it is cheaper than therapy. He can be reached at russ.crespolini@patch.com