My grandparents & my parents taught me that it is anyone's personal responsibility to help others if they can, and if you cannot help them, don't make their struggle worse than it needs to be.

We lost a large tree in an 80 mph gust that was close enough to have crushed into our house, but it instead fell feet away and onto another tree across the yard. That was pretty eye-opening..... no one is immune to nature's wrath. It really is here now, affecting us now, and not some far away place that no one has ever been to that you know. I know people in NJ that had to outright move due to the damage and the power being out. FEMA and Red Cross did such an amazing job finding accommodations for people in NJ. In NY it was a bit less organized. I actually tried to book a room anywhere near NYC so that i could go and volunteer more than the 2 times i did, but everything was either occupied or had been reserved for evacuees. On a more personal note, a gentleman i knew from near atlantic highlands had his house flooded 10 feet underwater. He was a NJ transit engineer, great guy, loved his work, and he died 8 months after the storm.... i'm thinking the stress of having an unlivable house and all that related stuff just eroded his health.

In any case..... i do what i can when i can, and i always will, because that's how i was raised.

- Andy