11/24/12
Howdy all! I am finally out of the fog of Percocet! Knee is almost back to original size, and I am able to walk again. I did ask the nurse if I would be able to play the violin afterwards. She asked if I could play already, which I responded “yes, but it’s been decades.” So true to form, as any good nurse would be, she came right back with “Well I guess you’ll have to practice a lot, won’t you?”
Any hoo (said with a big Jack Benny sigh)
Don't love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, I will never fail you. I will never abandon you. ~ Hebrews 13:5
I missed talking to my family on Thanksgiving Day, since they were all out at other family member’s houses for the big meal. I did get them today. My sister told me about the damages caused by Hurricane Sandy (they live on Long Island NY). I grew up on the last bit of natural land south of Merrick Rd. So the potential of damage was real to me. But when I finally heard, my heart sank. The house is about 1.5 to 2 miles from the water leading up from the ocean through a series of natural and man-made canals. The water line during Sandy made it up to only 3 houses to their south, and the street was flooded another mile to the north. Yet, the only damage to the house was 3 small puddles in the basement. Outside, the water came to the front stoop, but no further. My Mom was out, as were most of the folks living there. But my sister was with my dad, who is 81 and suffers from a myriad of troubles. They had to watch everything in real time. But the house survived. That basement, which is always flooded during even the simplest of rain storms, only had three small puddles. My brother-in-law’s parent’s house didn’t do so good. The sheet rock from the floor up 2 feet had to be ripped off and replaced. They live on slab foundation, in the man-made part of the neighborhood. The only thing left on the first floor was the HDTV, mounted to the wall above the water line. My sister, then my Mom rattled off name after family name that I remember as a kid; all losing most if not all of their homes. My family, 3 puddles, oh yeah, Dad’s computer, which he believes fried upon return of the power. The town I grew up in will never be the same. The fantastic beaches of Jones Beach State Park destroyed. The bath houses, the restaurants, the boardwalks, the miles of the whitest sand you could find anywhere in the world are all gone. The high way along the beach area washed out. Fire Island is now 2 islands. Some of the beach communities are still closed off. The damage hasn’t been estimated yet, except for the silly numbers mentioned in the news. But no estimate will ever compare to the damages to memories. All this saddens me, for the neighborhood I grew up in, the parks and beaches I played in throughout my childhood are no longer there. But, my family survived. Their friends survived. My brother-in-law, who works for a company that installs heating systems, comes home late every night with a happy chant, “Another woman has heat tonight!” I am blessed that my family has each other. They have friends who are still their friends, even with the loss of their homes. It reminds me of when my wife, pregnant at the time, pushed away a dog jumping to her wastes, when her wedding band and engagement rings flew into the autumn brush and leaves. She cried as she told me what happened; only to get mad when I told her it was just ‘stuff’ and we are still married. (Boy, did she get MAD!)
God did not fail us then. I found the rings. God did not fail my family. They survived, with all the devastation around them. It doesn’t matter how much loss of property that was had, only the blessing of friends that are still friends. The value of what is left, or lost does not matter. What matters is that Survival was successful. Memories are still memories, regardless if the places where they were made are there or not. Forget the value of what was lost. Be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.
That was the best phone call to home I’ve had in a long time!
Take care, God bless and especially, ESPECIALLY at this time in history,
STAND WITH ISRAEL!!!
Tom Kiley
Comments
Stand With Israel!!! God Bless you and your family and friends!