Five Things About #Sandy

Watching the storm coverage on CNN from the safety of Washington state has been heartbreaking. My beloved NYC dark and flooded. Friends and relatives without power. And so many up and down the east coast facing loss, suffering...

As a writer, I see the Sandy saga as a giant magnifying glass illuminating aspects of humanity, ethics and culture in our media age.

A few observations:

Wonderful: 
Newark, NJ mayork Cory Booker's tweet that "Police have reported ZERO looting or crimes of opportunity in Newark. And ceaseless reports of acts of kindness abound everywhere #Gratitude" has been retweeted over 5,000 times

Horrible:
An "occupy Wall Street" movement member FALSELY tweeted that the floor of the NYSE was under 3 feet of water AND the 24-hour-news-cycle-greedy media actually REPORTED this as fact for quite some time. Also, generally, the way some reporters seem kind of gleeful about the magnitude of the devastation about which they are reporting (translate: career-building notch).

Wonderful:
Calling my NY-residing mother-in-law to learn she was happily ensconced in her home with some relatives escaping from lower-lying areas, has been in constant touch with her neighbors, and they were weathering the storm all together.

Horrible: (well, really just kind of ruefully funny):
My newly-engaged brother-in-law reporting to his mom (my aforementioned mother-in-law) that he had one flashlight but did not think of buying candles.

Surreal:
The way eighteen-months (ish) of brutal election coverage were summarily silenced by Sandy's waves, wind and snow. Listening to the myraid surmises as to how this will affect the election outcome. Personally (esp. since I have already mailed in my ballot) I am grateful for the media break and I hope that it helps all of America put this expensive, sound-bit-driven, celebrity-laden, complicated election year back into perspective.

Hoping you are safe, warm and with family or friends right now!