As a little girl, I was pretty shy (boy, have I changed). And, I was often scared,so I acted tough.
My Dads were not around much, but I was always wishing they were when a storm was forecasted. Children like their Dads around when a storm is coming.
I learned at a very early age about men’s weather obsession, because being informed and talking about the weather conditions, was something both Sandys had in common.
When the hurricane hit NYC, the night of October 29th, I started going online and watching closely all of the news and weather channels. I could recall conversations I had with both dads about the weather, wind chill factor, high vs low tide, barometric pressure, and so on.
So, I kept track of Sandy.
Storm Stats for NYC: a full moon, winds in Central Park were approx. 58 mph and reached 90 mph in the surrounding area, the water surged up to almost 14 feet(in Battery Park), the Barometric Pressure dropped to 945, and the storm extended 1000 miles in diameter. As per Reuters, 42 people died in the NY surrounding area, 34 in NYC.
NYU Hospital Medical Langone Center was evacuated. This is the hospital I associate with the end of the line. NYU hospital was punished by Storm Sandy, not just because the backup generators went down, but 3 floors of windows blew out. I believe the 15th-17th floors. And, that is also the floor where my dad spent some of his time before he “checked out.”
On the morning of October 30th, a pink rose budded from the “Knockout” rosebush that I gave to Sandy’s niece and nephew, Ellen and John, on their wedding anniversary, in memory of Sandy. A text was sent to me Tuesday morning by their daughter, Sarah, “Cindy’s rose in memory of Sandy blooms – a good omen.”
Sandy, the Friendly Ghost was smiling down on me after the storm roared through.
Suffice it to say, Sandy was the largest storm on earth, according to the news reports. However, the damage could have been a lot worse. I remember going to help in New Orleans after Katrina, and nothing could have compared to that. But, my dads taught me you step up, wherever and whenever you can. Now it was time to help repair the damage.
The next few days, I got to work and did what I could to help those in need. NYC still has little power downtown (below 30th), food an issue and getting gas is a serious problem. Because of downed lines, there is little if any reception.
I went online to donate (see below), and made calls and sent emails to see who needed a place to stay. I brought a carload of food,water, flashlights and batteries to a shelter yesterday. Today we went to one of the Lower East Side projects. Neither had water or electricity.
I want to thank my new friend Cyrus for helping me today (btw, a single-dad) and thank Julie Menin for organizing this effort. I also want to thank my good friend David, for without his kind support, guidance and enthusiasm this project would only have been a great idea–not something real! Also: he is a Super Single Dad!
Click here to see a list of organizations you may give to
Huffington Post gives a neighborhood take on how you can help.
COMING UP: Sandy Single Dad Lesson # 3: Be fiercely independent & count on yourself
SINGLE DADS BLOG 
You’re on a roll!
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Cindy and I met very recently and it became obvious service to others is important to her as it is to me. When she volunteered to give me a lift to my evacuated Soho apartment I could not help myself but to assist her bringing food and supplies to the elderly in need in the LES. I sure hope single dads or anyone for that matter make it a point to serve others. After a tour in a combat zone to help rebuild a nation, helping mentally retarded children, working with juvenile delinquents, handing out food at a food bank , helping friends in need, and sponsoring a major international education non-profit, there is nothing and I mean nothing more gratifying than to serve and help others.
So, single dads, serve and teach your children to serve.
Way to go!
MAKE THE ELECTION A CHANCE FOR CONNECTION!
As a single dad, establishing real communication with my kids is a priority and often a challenge. Questions like “How did school go today?” are often met with a shrug. “How was your movie date?” elicits “OK.”
Being a political junkie, I have always engaged my kids in discussions of current events. With CNN blaring all the time, they could hardly avoid it! I have found this to be a good way of engaging in real dinner-table conversation — it is not personal, but it is constantly new and interesting. With knowledge comes opinions, often strongly held and argued. They have developed their own strong points of view and engage their friends and classmates in spirited discussions — and are often frustrated because their peers usually know less than they do and hence don’t have informed opinions.They have become remarkably astute at seeing through political rhetoric and uncovering the hidden agendas. In the American political landscape, nothing is as it seems and it has the appeal of a “Farmville” alternative reality — way more interesting than the geometry quiz today! There is the appeal of the profound, such as parsing abstract issues like Supreme Court decisions, and the trivial, like critiquing a candidate’s hairstyle or dress style. Discussing politics is a good entree into finding out what really matters to your kids without asking them directly. And, as a bonus, it gives them practice in classroom presentations and arguing their positions in Q&A.
Well, as it turns out my daughter is a rabid Romney fan with the bumper sticker and key fob to announce it to the world. Her issues are jobs and the Second Amendment (she joined the NRA!). My son, on the other hand, supports Obama and argues convincingly that he has done a good job give the hand he was dealt by Bush. But no matter — at least they have well-reasoned opinions and have engaged early in the American political process. And at the same time, it gives us interesting conversation around the dinner table and a way of connecting that is meaningful and helps to foster real communication.
Hey! That’s Cyrus Maaghul. Me too. It’s a good thing Cyrus has the millionaire mind to help people, Thanks Cyrus. Cyrus has a rather long history of helping and beyond. He has been directly involved on rather dangerous overseas missions to assure actually, the security of this country paid by the Government..
It was also good to see the link to the site on facebook..
Cyrus-glad to see you are still out there. The hardship you and yours are enduring was eclipsed by the election coverage I think. Although you might feel on your own I can tell you there is a lot of pent-up concern for all of you, and not a small amount of frustration at what seems to be a slow response to the situation. Chin up and thanks for the photos of Brandon and the game!
tom
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