Evan Adrian- Hurricane Sandy

I don’t know much about the world outside of Staten Island. Being a single, 33 year old accountant I don’t get out much. I live by myself in a small house in South Beach. My German Shepard, Sam, keeps me company. He’s my best friend. Our lives were flipped upside down one cold and rainy night in October, when the disaster of the decade hit us.

           

It was a normal Tuesday in Staten Island, I woke up at 6 o clock in the morning, went to work, and then came home to Sam at 6 o clock at night. I fed Sam his dinner as soon as I walked through the door, because he gets hungry during the day when I’m at work. After I gave Sam his meal, I began to prepare myself some chicken and potatoes. By the time I finished cooking, it was around 8 o clock. I finally sat down to begin eating my meal after a long day of work. But as soon as I took my first bite, the power went out in my house. I knew it was raining pretty hard when I came home, but that is nothing out of the usual in Staten Island during the month of October. My house always loses power during heavy rainstorms, but this one felt different. I felt scared, like something bad was going to happen.

            

Sam is barking at the thunder and lightning because he does not like loud noises. While Sam was barking at the weather, I decided to call my mother. She lives in Pennsylvania, right outside Philadelphia. I wanted to see if she had lost power. She answers the phone and says “Steve! How are you?” She is always excited to hear from me because I have not seen her since Christmas of last year. I talked to her for about fifteen minutes, she seemed to have calmed me down a little. She also told me that she has power, so if things get worse I could come stay with her.

          

  It is now midnight, and I still have no power. At this point, I hear something happening in my basement. I slowly walk down and I find that my basement is filled with water, and it is rising fast. I realized that if I do not get out my house soon, I might die. I quickly grab some clothes, money and my car keys. I carry Sam to my car and we start to drive away. Luckily, the streets were not that bad at this point, so it was possible to travel. I drive down to Pennsylvania and I stay with my mother for a few weeks.

          

  I have been in Pennsylvania for a week now, because the officials declared it safe to come back into Staten Island. My mother and Sam come with me to see how bad the damage was from this hurricane that came out of nowhere. My house was destroyed. I could not believe it. I began to cry in my mother’s arms. I worked so hard to buy my own home, and Hurricane Sandy just wiped it out. All my vaulables and heirlooms were destroyed and I did not know what to do with my life.

          

  I ended up renting an apartment for about six months while my house was being rebuilt. After the hurricane hit, I thought my life was over. I had no house, no wife, and no kids. I actually became depressed for a period of time after the storm. All I had was single bedroom apartment and my best friend Sam. It wasn’t that bad. I met a girl named Sally on the same floor as me, going through the same thing that I was going through. This made things a little easier. I knew I was not alone.

           

In early May my house was finally rebuilt. I moved back in with Sam. Sally also moved in with me, and we have been dating for six months now. Hurricane Sandy destroyed my home and I lost everything. I was devastated. But it made my life a little better. It brought me closer together with Sam, and I met Sally. Hurricane Sandy may have destroyed my home, but it did not destroy me.