For the past 10 days, I have been reminiscing about my experiences on Staten Island with the Occupy Sandy relief Group.  

I recall the Ice storm of 1998: Cindy and I were living in Ottawa at the time.  We got help from hundreds of miles away.  I also remember stories of the Mont Blanc and the Halifax Explosion of 1917: The City of Boston was a major help in relief and rebuilding.  So much so, that Nova Scotia sends a giant Christmas Tree to Boston every year. Hurricane Sandy did not affect us in Eastern Canada and it was our turn (Cindy and I) to offer help to those in need.

We were only there a week.  We readily sacrificed spending Thanksgiving with our daughter in North Carolina; making up for it last Saturday with a big turkey dinner with all the fixings.

Now that we are gone, I am left with an emptiness and wishing I could have done more to help.

What about the 50 or more cats in the New Dorp Beach area that are without a home? We heard that 2 people had 20 or more cats each in their home and were looking for help with food and litter for all these animals.

What about all the debris that still clutters the streets? Sanitation crews are working relentlessly at picking everything up.  However the amount of debris in the narrow streets it making it difficult.

What about all the food donations that are sitting out in the elements?  Rain and freezing temperatures will soon put these donations at risk.

What about the people serving food in freezing temperatures? What about those with no heat or electricity in their homes lining up in freezing weather for a hot meal? I heard a comment today about hundreds still without power in New York . . . a month after the storm.

What about all the politicians saying we will learn from this and plan better next time? Did we not hear similar stories after Hurricane Katrina?

Regardless, I am still proud to have played a small part in helping those in need.  My experience has reminded me about a saying concerning people.

There are three kinds of people

1. those who make things happen
2. those who  watch  things  happen
3. those who wonder what happened

Thanks to those who have followed me on this journey.  For my friends in Prince Edward Island complaining about the snow and freezing rain today, count you blessings if you have a warm home and hot food. For those reading my blog to learn about PEI, come back in a day or so when I will resume providing information about our Gentle Island.

Guy

In my last post, I spoke about the people in Staten Island.  We got to know a few of the residents quite well, even though I have forgotten most of their names.  One I will not forget is Anthony. He was always there helping out though he needed help himself.

The last night we were there, a strange set of events occurred   Cindy said “I smell something burning”.  Someone answered that it must be the campfire – a smelly piece of driftwood on the fire.  Cindy said it smelled different but we sloughed it off.

It was our last night there as our daughter needed our help in North Carolina the next day. We turned in early.  Cindy went back out to the supply tent to look for kleenex.  She heard some yelling coming from down the street.  She came to get me saying something like “they broke into Anthony’s house.”

As I headed out, I heard sirens.  Three fire truck arrived on the scene.  They were followed closely by three more – the flashing lights lit up the darkened streets. We arrived on the scene right behind the fire fighters.  We could see smoke oozing from the shingles of a home.  We also saw Anthony, visibly in shock and possibly burned in the fire.  Despite his injuries, he was yelling to the firemen to tell them exactly where the fire was.  We watched as the firemen ripped apart what was left of the water damaged home to find the fire and put it out.

A couple of our volunteers were helping Anthony until the paramedics arrived to begin treating him.  The rest of the story we learned from a news article on the internet.  We have yet to get any more news about Anthony.  If anyone has heard, please let me know.

When we arrived at the Occupy Sandy Camp – there was a big sign on the sidewalk that said Occupy Sandy.  Unfortunately, by the time we thought to take a picture, it had been removed.  I read somewhere about Occupy Wall Street Hippies, presumably disorganized, that were accomplishing wonderful things on Staten Island.  I guess it was just our good fortune to happen upon their camp to volunteer.

There were also signs from three motorcycle groups: the Low Riders, Rolling Thunder and Hallow’ed Sons. These volunteers brought many resources to the camp and had good local connections. We met Jimmy Carter, a wonderful man who is apparently well known in the circles.

The occupy Wall Street group had many volunteers that spent 24 hours at the camp and often went out on demolition jobs, helping people clean out their ravaged homes. We made several good friends during our week of volunteering at the camp.  Although we may never see any of them again, their faces and special characters are indelibly inscribed in my mind.

Wherever help was needed, whether organizing, serving food, helping the victims, or unloading new supplies, there was always someone available to help out. Chyno was as outspoken as they come.  Not a shy bone in his body.  He had a reputation for getting things done.  he was the go to guy when we needed to go the the “miracle department” as I usually call it to resolve a problem. Donna was one of the head organizers, don’t let her small stature fool you (if I ever find a picture of her), she is a ball of fire and won’t back down from anybody. She kept things organized, made those endless TO DO lists and organized essential shopping trips for critical supplies.  I see many other faces to which i cannot put a name.

Then there were the residents.  5 or 6 of them were at our camp almost every evening.  After they had done what they needed to do in their own homes, they were with us, helping us organize and helping others.  

The old adage is true: adversity seems to bring out the best in some people.