A-Z 2013 the letter W

We can't live without it. We drink it. We cook with it. We wash and clean with it and in it.

But sometimes we forget just how destructive water can be when nature unleashes its power in full force.

It exists in nature is a liquid, a solid and a gas and my family can attest to the damage it can do in its liquid form.

My "W" word is water.

My family owns a beach house on Long Island, New York in Long Beach which is located on the south shore. As you might recall not to long ago hurricane Sandy devastated this community as it did to many others.

When I wax nostalgic about my childhood at the beach this is the place I'm talking about and this house that I'm referring to. This post is about "that house" and "the beach" of my childhood. Currently co-owned by my mother and aunt, they have been thru some trying times since hurricane Sandy. 

Frankly the house was wrecked by water damage.

The water from the ocean (which is just down the block) was at least four feet deep in the down stairs apartment of their house.

My cousin Howie (my aunt's son) and his friends have diligently been rebuilding our parents house.  Once salt water gets into a home it has to be gutted and redone from the bare bones.

Once the water was receded. And the mold was disposed of the work began. It is an huge task! Here's a few pictures and a very brief video of what's been done.

a view of two of the bedrooms from living area

bedroom

almost completed bath

This is a video of the main area of the down stairs of the house. In this video the floors and lighting have been installed as well as the walls. It's coming together beautifully! It's still a construction zone though!

You will get a glimpse of my cousin (well maybe his arm!) who by the way is an angel. He just retired from his 30+  year career only to take on this project with the help of his friends. They are with the exception of an occasional paid contractor donating their time.

Talk about generous and loving family and friends!

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A-Z 2013 the letter "B"

It was pretty much a no brain-er  for me when it came to choosing my "B" word. Those of you who know
me or regularly read this blog know...

I love the beach; so naturally beach is my "B" word.

I thought right off the bat in this blogging challenge I'd mix it up a bit by adding photographs in my posts if appropriate. I have personally visited all of these beaches and taken all of these photographs.

Lets visit some of my favorite beaches together shall we?

This first beach is a lovely beach in St Maarten. 

Hawaii

And what would beach pictures be without at least one beach story?

Halieiwa, Hawaii

Back in the late 1970's my brother lived in a house right beside this very beach in Haleiwa, Hawaii. When I arrived on the island the first thing I did was put on my suit and jump in the water right in this very spot. I dove into the beautiful clear water  being careful of the large rocks that dot the bottom of the oceans floor in this area. 

When I came up for air I remember being surprised at the power of the waves and how quickly the next wave approached. Then all of the sudden with the next wave came a surprise I would never forget. A school of slim green fish about six inches long jumped out of the wave and literally slapped against my body one after the other. I stood there waist deep in a hail of live fish and I was one horrified teenager!

Shocked by the fish pelting I ran from the water like gangbusters. My brother was in stitches as he watched this all play out from the safety of the shoreline.  Thirty plus years later he still gets a kick out of my reaction which was and I quote....

"I'm never swimming in here again there are fish in there!"

O.K don't laugh to hard I was a teenager remember!

Waimea Bay, Hawaii

Barbados has great beaches and even better rum, if you like that kind of thing!

Long Beach NY, recently hit very badly by the hurricane. 

This picture is pre Sandy

Sandbridge, Virginia Beach

So tell me folks what's your favorite place?

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my dilemma

I'm not a sales person by any means. 

My blog numbers have pretty much stayed the same for the past I don't know how many months.

Selling myself doesn't come easy.

I tend to get comfortable with myself and what I'm doing and even who I'm doing it with and I forget I need to put myself out there every once and a while. If for nothing else it's good just to expand myself creatively which is the whole purpose of blogging; that and to do more of my very favorite part of blogging which is "connecting." More of that couldn't be bad!

Last week when I went to New York I visited my old beach town. As I've mentioned before, hurricane Sandy did her terrible damage to this poor community. 

I took my camera on my visit as you might well imagine.

But blogging being blogging I had to choose which blog to publish my pictures and the story behind them on (since I have two blogs). My decision basically hinged on the fact that my other blog is primarily a photo blog. But there's a story behind those photo's which I love for you to read, it's one that is meaningful and dear to me with a touch of whimsy and sadness. 

Now to the self promotion! I Blog It As I See It  is my other blog, if you haven't already visited, today would be a good day to do so. This post is worth reading or at least I think so. Hey I could get used to this self promoting stuff :)

And thanks!

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And while you’re at it don’t forget to come visit me at my other blog.

It’s called “I blog it as I see it” 
Just click here.      

post hurricane Sandy- pictures of mom's house

This is our families house in Long Beach, NY. I know you know this city was hit terribly hard by Hurricane Sandy along with many many others. This place is special to me. I spent all of my childhood's summers there and lived there for my young adulthood up until the time Bill and I married. 

It's a wonderful place.... Most every good memory I have includes this place and the people from it.  Honestly it was sad to see the city in such a state but it's really about the people and I know you'll remember that as you look at these pictures. 

Here are some pictures of the hard work done by my cousin Howie and his friends who gutted the downstairs half of the house.  

Four feet of water flooded the downstairs level of the house our Mothers' still own during Hurricane Sandy. I can't even imagine what this looked like before can you?

I visited Long beach when I was up for Thanksgiving and the wedding last week. Even after weeks of clean up the signs of destruction are highly visible and I can't imagine the scars will ever go away.

There is much work to be done! This was scene right at the corner of my Mom's block. Here workers are clearing and taking away debris as the home owners strip their homes of damaged possessions, molding walls and floors and put it all on the curb for removal.

What I cannot show you in a photograph is the hope that I hear in every conversation with my family members and each and every friend I've talked to who was affected by this storm. They are all determined to rebuild and make this city better than before. Even those who lost everything are not deterred one bit.They as individuals and as a community are amazing people. They are salt of the earth strong and I am privileged to consider myself one of them.

assessing the damage

If you've followed along on this blog for a while then you know that my parents had a second home at the beach. We were blessed children to have a whole childhood of summers frolicking in the sun and sand with our family and our summer friends every summer. Purchased back in the sixties by my parents and aunt and uncle it is now owned by my mother and aunt since the passing of my dad and uncle. I have written a few little stories about my experiences growing up there you can read about it  here here and here.

I am sorry to say that our beach town Long Beach NY and it's residents and home owners have been devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Although we The Forbes have moved away our hearts still reside in that town and have never left. Nor have many of my family they are still there.

Here's the news I have so far...

It is grim. I should say that everyone is safe but Long Beach NY and just about every person if not every person is devastated.

dunes and grass before

photo credit: Jen Forbes

dunes and grass after

photo credit Lauren Saccaro

My aunt wrote me, mom and Bill and e-mail to fill us in on the family and on the property damage since her and mom are still partners on the house.

My aunt lives right on the beach in her main residence she has a basement full of water, heater and all contents of basement are lost, no heat, electric or water, house uninhabitable.

Her eldest daughter Gen, has flooded basement plus two feet in her one story house, all is lost, it's the feeling of the family the house will most likely be condemned. My cousin God bless her lost her husband when her twin boys were barely teens (about 12) she has had a difficult life as a single mother and it is just heartbreaking that now all everything is lost to her, even her house. Please pray for her!

photo credit: Frank DiGaudio

This is from what I understand a typical scene in the West end of Long Beach where all of my beach family reside. People are just dumping the contents of their homes on the curb. Do you notice how the sand has filled in the streets swept up from the beach?

One of Gen's twin sons lived with his girlfriend in the downstairs apt. of a house a few blocks west, they lost all of their furniture and possessions. Not only that, they both work for local businesses which have closed due to their own devastation so they are now both unemployed. Prayers for them too please.

The other twin lives in Brooklyn and is ok thank goodness.

My cousin Kate lives in her Dad's (Mickey's) rental property, the basement is flooded and the heater is submerged under water. She has no heat or electric she is unable like the rest to live in her place.

beach after

photo credit:Lauren Saccaro

beach before

photo credit: Jen Forbes

My mom and aunts house is a two story house and my cousin Pat occupies the top floor apt, she was the lucky one all her possessions are untouched by the flooding and sand. The downstairs apartment however was under four feet of water and will eventually have to be gutted and redone. No gas or electric or water the house is unlivable due to those conditions.

Pat's son Dan and his wife and baby  Jax are living in a motel in Connecticut for the time being, they were living in an apt, in the next beach town over and aren't able to move in due to lack of heat or water.

My cousin Mickey and his wife Lorraine's primary residence is quite a distance from the beach so they've taken all of the family-their immediate family into their home. I was chatting with my mom this morning over breakfast and said "even when he was the smallest child he was always a good boy." And I might just add he married a good and decent woman Lorraine has a generous heart.

There is destruction beyond comprehension and the rebuilding will take a very long time. My guess is this will vanish from the news long before even a small part of the work is done. Then there is the healing, the people are experiencing losses beyond our comprehension. Lets not forget them.

 I'll keep you updated as I get news, so for now .....

I'll leave you with the words of my 84 year old aunt Genevieve and I'm just going to paraphrase what she said at the end of her e-mail.

I thank God for my family. I couldn't be luckier of more 

 blessed that we are all safe and  together.They the best people in the world.