A few days after Sandy visited New York,
visitors to the reopened Central Park heard
“Leaning on the Everlasting Arms”
Bethesda Terrace
Central Park, Manhattan
4 November 2012
Tag Archives: Hurricane Sandy
Lent 15: Hear
Presbyterian voices in the storm
This post contains links to blogs written by Presbyterians affected by Hurricane Sandy and to materials provided by mid-councils and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance with information about responding to the storm.
Some disclaimers and parameters:
- Experiences of the storm differ widely due to a number of factors. Writing styles differ. The reasons we blog differ. The list is eclectic.
- People process experiences in different ways using an array of media. This list focuses on blogs since that is what I do.
- Presbyterians are not the only ones blogging about the storm. This list focuses on Presbyterians because I am one.
- The fact that I have time to blog reflects my social location as a person of privilege and my geographical location on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
I do not know all the blogs that should be included. Suggest other blogs either in the comments section or via email. This post remains a work in progress.
Bob Brashear – West-Park Press
Christine Davis – Journeying Alongside
Jeff Geary – Pastor Jeff’s Blog
Carolyn Winfrey Gillette – When Waters Roar and Foam (hymn)
John Edward Harris – Summit to Shore
Andy James – bluedrift
Presbyteries in New Jersey on Facebook
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance – Give to support immediate assistance and long-term recovery in the United States and in the Caribbean nations affected by this storm
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance – Share your story
Presbytery of New York City on Facebook
Finally – Mark Koenig – Along the Graybeard Trail
As I mentioned earlier – help me build the list.
See you along the trail.
Filed under Current Events, New York, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
On guard
A lonely gargoyle keeps faithful watch over the Tudor City Greens in the aftermath of Sandy.
2 November 2012
Manhattan, New York
Willow at Harlem Meer 2
Central Park is closed until further notice. The park closed before Sandy arrived. It remains closed. The park sustained damage during the storm. The closing protects visitors from falling branches or trees. It allows park personnel the opportunity to clean the park.
Updates as to the progress of restoring Central Park appear on the park’s Web page. On the page today are photos of the damage. That includes the uprooting of a willow tree near Harlem Meer.
Immediately upon viewing the photo, I recalled that, a little over a year ago, I walked around Harlem Meer with my friend Peter Tibi. We passed this willow. I took a photo, not of the tree, but of its branches dipped into Harlem Meer. I wrote a poem – of sorts.
Now it stands, toppled. In no way does this compare to the loss of human life or the destruction of homes and the disruption of lives wrought by Sandy in New York, New Jersey, other parts of the United States, including Puerto Rico, Haiti, Cuba, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Canada, and Jamaica. Nor does it compare to such losses brought by Cyclone Nilam to brothers and sisters living on the Indian Ocean.
Still, the fall of the willow that I sought to capture in photo and words tugs at me, a reminder of the storm’s power and life’s fragility.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events, New York
Purple flowers: on 51st Street between 6th and 7th Avenues
Purple flowers ordinarily post on Mondays. But this has been no ordinary week in New York and too many places around the world. As have our brothers and sisters along the coast and in other parts of the United States, including Puerto Rico, as have our sisters and brothers in Haiti, Cuba, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Canada, and Jamaica, we have come through Sandy. Cyclone Nilam has impacted brothers and sisters living on the Indian Ocean. Storms real and storms metaphorical have touched lives around the world.
In all those places, in different ways, storms have battered, bruised, and tested people. There are new saints to remember on this All Saints’ Day. Scars remain and continue to emerge. Tests and challenges continue.
These are no ordinary purple flowers. During yesterday’s long walk, I came across them on 51st Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. They survived the storm.
I post them today
in memory of all killed by Sandy, Nilam, and other storms
in support for all who grieve
in honor of all who have endured
in profound respect for first responders
as a modest sign of hope for those who continue to struggle with the aftermath of the storm
as a prayer that our nation, our people and all the nations and peoples
may ponder the storm and how it calls us to change and
may find the courage to make those changes.
Manhattan, 31 October, 51st Street between 6th and 7th Avenues
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events, New York, Photo
It is morning
It is morning.
It is after.
For those who passed through
Hurricane Sandy
Tropical Storm Sandy
Nor’easter Sandy
Frankenstorm
it will,
as for anyone
who lives through any
significant, dramatic, traumatic event,
always be after.
It is morning.
It is after.
In varying degrees of
shock and grief,
faith and hope,
assessment begins,
analysis begins,
recovery begins,
rebuilding begins.
It is morning.
It is after.
30 October 2012
Shire on the Hudson
Filed under Current Events, New York, Poem
Tears and smiles
From the comfort of my home,
I watch NYU Hospital being evacuated –
patients, sometimes children,
carried down the stairs
(for the elevators do not work),
riding on gurneys,
accompanied by medical personnel,
emerge from the building
where EMTs meet them –
shield them from the wind and wet –
hustle them to the first ambulance
in the queue, its lights flashing.
As the patient gets on board,
the ambulance leaves
and another takes its place.
Tears run down my cheeks
toward a broad smile.
29 October 2012
Shire on the Hudson
Filed under Current Events, New York, Poem
1:00 PM EST, 29 October 2012
I wait.
I watch.
I see the pictures.
Flooding streets.
Pounding surf.
Fallen trees.
It has only begun,
my imagination runs.
My heart breaks.
My spirit grieves.
For sisters and brothers
already battered by the storm,
lives lost, homes gone.
My heart wrenches.
My spirit aches.
For sisters and brothers
who have no shelter
from the storm.
My heart leaps.
My spirit soars.
For sisters and brothers
who go into the storm
responding to human needs.
I watch.
I wait.
29 October 2012
Shire on the Hudson
Filed under Current Events, New York
Privileged waiting – again
Again I wait in privilege.
This time the date is with
Sandy, not Irene.
Hurricane?
Tropical storm?
Frankenstorm?
Whatever name,
I wait.
Sandy approaches.
I have worked my way
through the preparation drill.
Candles bought.
Batteries obtained.
Electronic products recharged.
Water bottled.
Food purchased –
what happens to year-old applesauce?
Does it go bad?
Does it ferment?
I straighten the apartment,
move and position items –
later tonight I will fill the bathtub
and light again the sentinel.
I prepare.
I wait.
Watching football.
Tweeting, posting.
Contacting family, friends
I wait.
I wait and I remember,
yet again,
the privilege that is mine:
I have a place,
a solid place,
a dry place,
a safe place:
a roof above,
walls around;
I have
water to drink
and water to flush;
I have flashlights, candles for light
food that needs no cooking;
clothes to keep me warm;
loved ones who will check upon.
So much I have,
while sisters, brothers have but little,
while brothers, sisters have none at all.
I wait and I remember,
yet again,
the privilege that is mine
I wait and I pray,
for those who have too little,
for those who have too much,
for myself.
I wait and as before I wonder,
after the waiting,
after the storm,
what I will do differently
with the privileges that are mine?
28 October 2012
Shire on the Hudson
Filed under Current Events, New York, Poem
Along the Graybeard Trail 