When The Lights Came On After Sandy

I wrote this last night when the lights came on in The Lower East Side. 

"Walking from 210 Stanton to 1st Ave and 6th street. Its bitter cold tonight. Some folks are blasting music like James Brown out their windows. But its Friday night here. This place is still very dead. Everyone is worn out. A few bars are at half full. People are walking their dogs and praising them for not being afraid now that the lights are on. I didn't realize that dogs can be afraid of the dark. 
Heading home now. Thinking I'd hit the Red Hook and Volunteer on Saturday or Sunday, then again, maybe not. My place is a wreck and I've got to work on my novel before work on Monday. But the cold is reminding me that there are folks and kids freezing their asses off or are miserable in shitty shelters all over the city. I'll help out again very soon.
I've got to say, it's so good to have street lights and stores lit again in a place that is usually so alive."


After I wrote this on my IPhone, I took the 15 bus to 34th. 28th street to 34th streets was still without power. It was dark and creepy even with traffic flowing.  The Empire State Building was lit. That was very nice. I loved seeing guys with a headlamp strapped to their foreheads. Some  walked arm in arm with a girl to try enjoy the night and see what buildings had generators to charge a phone. After three long blocks, I jumped on a bus going to 42nd Grand Central Station. It is super lit over there and near normal. The bus lines for downtown were massive but some of those people will be very happy to have power when they get home.

It's a strange time here. We are so very happy to have the simplest things go right. 

Power to the People.

Oh, and below is a link to why I feel the damned NYC Marathon mattered NOT this year. 
If the link dose not work, Google "Queens residents arm themselves in post-storm blackout from looters" via The Daily News.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/queens-residents-arm-looters-article-1.1196031