Sandy on our Minds

The constant barrage of political ads has been replaced by constant news coverage surrounding Hurricane Sandy, which is bringing unprecedented flooding and wind damage to most of the Northeast. High winds and record rainfall is predicted for as far west as Pittsburgh, and a front from the west is colliding with the tropical storm to produce snowfalls measured in feet in the mountains of West Virginia.
Of course, we are watching all the coverage because our loved ones are in Philadelphia and New York. Geoff and Lisa live just a block or so from the mandatory evacuation zone in Long Island City, and the CNN report on just now says Philadelphia is going to get socked by rain and flooding soon. (Evelyn just texted Jennifer, and she texted back, "No power, turning off the phone.")
For our part, we're expecting 50 mph winds overnight--maybe higher--with rain. Tomorrow is garbage day, and we're not putting the cans out till tomorrow morning. Can't wait to get up and get out in the wind and rain as soon as I get up tomorrow!
We're putting flashlights on our bedside tables in case we lose power overnight, and we checked the water in the backup sump pump battery. They're saying the worst weather for us may be tomorrow, and memories of Ike (four days without power) are making us as cautious as possible.
This should be behind us by the weekend, although if our power goes out, I won't expect to get it back for several days. We're really hoping that won't happen, while we're really praying for the safety and welfare of our kids.

I grabbed this picture off the Web.
It shows water flowing onto the sidewalk beside the East River.
Geoff and Lisa live across from this river in Queens.