Rant #845: Getting Better All the Time

Yes, things are getting better all the time.

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy and the nor'easter that followed, things are really getting better, at least for most of us that were greatly impacted by those weathre disturbances.

Just about all of us have power, which is a major step in the right direction.

Gas lines have either shortened to next to nothing or they don't exist at all.

Yes, things are getting back to normal.

But for many, that just isn't the case.

Those who have lost their homes or are still flooded out of their homes don't know what normal is yet, and they won't know what it is for some time.

Many seaside communities are still without power, and many are so lacking that you can say that they are without hope.

Each home has to be inspected to see if it is safe to start up the power again.

The problem is that the water is still so deep in many cases that it isn't safe at all to turn on the juice.

And the inspection process is slow and arduous, and, of course, that really rankles people.

And that's for the people that still have some semblance of their homes.

Others are homeless, and will remain homeless for some time.

Housing has to be erected, to keep those people in their communities while they rebuild.

I am sure some people will just throw up their hands and leave, but others will stick it out.

Where they will stick it out is another problem, and that is why temporary housing is severely needed in some seaside areas.

This might be a somewhat nasty thing to say in light of these peoples' problems, but I am going to say it anyway.

If I had the money for a home, I would never, ever build near the water.

And I do mean never.

As a teenager, I had friends who lived right on the water. Their backyard was the Great South Bay.

I remember the mother saying that anytime there was a heavy rain, their basement leaked, and there really wasn't anything they could do about it.

That was a long time ago, and that family isn't there anymore.

I presume the house still is, and if it is, you can just imagine the damage that the hurricane inflicted on that house this time around.

Years ago, when my family was moving from Queens to Long Island, our family was supposed to live near the water, not on the water, but very much near it.

Happily, those deals fell through, and we moved to an area that is close enough to the water but far enough away.

Water is a great thing, it keeps us going, but as we saw this time, it can take away things from us too.

I hope those that have been ravaged by these weather disturbances can get their lives together, but as we have seen, it is going to be tough.

But for the rest of us, things are slowly, very slowly, getting better.

And that's good.