On the other side of anxious possibilities, Sandy has come and gone and left in its wake the amazing capacity of the human spirit.  While the storm lashed and pounded, reshaped coastlines and battered trees and houses, people are out all over the city today cleaning up and carrying on.  It is an amazing testament to the indomitable human spirit.  We go on.  No matter what the damage, what the cost, what it will take to accomplish “normal” again, we go on.  There is enormous grace to be found here!

I saw folks out sawing down and picking up broken tree branches; cleaning up the muck off their cars; and raking leaves away from street drains. I saw Comcast and Verizon; Potomac Power and Tree Services parked throughout the neighborhood.  Things are slowly coming back to normal.  On the other side of all the possible damage the storm could do, we pick up and we carry on.  We humans are incredible creatures.

I do have to admit it was scary!  The winds howled and the windows rattled as the rains poured and the lights flickered.  We did not, however, lose power.  We were some of the lucky ones.  We “sheltered in place” and, at first, watched movies.  Then, in solidarity with those without power, we went to “old school” – reading.  I got lost somewhere between New York and D.C.; Berlin and Moscow in a spy thriller where the courier is an expert in languages and disguises. The assassin is yet to be discovered.  Now I must return . . . the pages await. Certainly, they won’t be able to carry on without me.