Like Dark Striker ((Nidhogg), the dragon who was an enormous force of evil in Norse mythology, Hurricane Sandy has left a broad swath of destruction and darkness in her path. Large areas of New York and New Jersey are swamped and disconnected to an extent never seen before. The fires that reduced acres of homes in Queens were heart-wrenching.
Hurricane impact two houses away from ours.
Egils Zarins photo
The breadth of this storm was stunning. My sister-in-law in Baltimore experienced torrential rains and forty degree temperatures while we, living in a small town 45 miles north of Boston, had no power overnight due to falling trees that yanked out wiring, yet the temperature was 59 degrees. My nephew Jeremy made his way from where he lives in Texas to New York City to help restore power. He is part of a team where he works that is sent to natural disasters to help repair infrastructure. Sandy is heading for Iceland too, where our son and his family lives. Perhaps by then it will have lost a bit of its dragon breath. My husband’s cousin in Latvia heard about the storm and called to find out how we were. This is not the kind of scope we want to be a part of.
New York and New Jersey need help right now. Jennifer Malone, a critique group friend, is doing something about it. She is running an auction on her blog: www.jenmalone.blogspot.com, to benefit the Red Cross. You can bid on a wide range of kidlit services like critiques with editors, agents and authors along with other intriguing items. It’s a worthy fundraiser with targeted perks for the donor too.
Here it is again: www.jenmalone.blogspot.com. Pass it along. Do some good.
