Hey guys - I'm alive and well! Got power back last night, and internet/phone just moments ago.

My house is fine, but my town is a disaster...trees on houses, power lines down, homes and businesses flooded and destroyed...it's ugly.

Got a lot to do but I'll check in again when I can...just wanted to let you guys know I'm still here!

Glad to hear it, JMP.

As a veteran of 7 hurricanes, I know they suck.

Thanks for letting us know you are ok JMP.

WOOHOO!!! YESSS!!! THANK YOU GOD!!! JMP BEING ALIVE AND UNHARMED IS TEN TIMES BETTER THAN BEATING THE JETS!!!

Ditto on all the well wishes to those that were in the path of Sandy. Glad most of you made it without too much damage. Hypo, was that true what you said about your trailer floating in the Atlantic?

Thanks guys!

I am truly blessed...when I look at all the damage and destruction around me, it seems almost impossible that my home is OK. It's really odd...the small section of the block that I live on - from stop sign to stop sign - is fine. But all around us, in every direction, there are houses ruined, lines down, no power, etc.

I live about two miles from the Great South Bay. On Tuesday we drove down as close as we could to the water. We had to park a ways down and then walk the rest of the way. I've never seen anything like it...our little town beach is completely underwater - you can't see one grain of sand; the dock where my kids and I go crabbing is completely underwater; the beautiful catering hall where my wife and I got married has 4 feet of water in the parking lot; the seafood restaurant where we love to eat has 5 feet of water in it; houses look like they're in the middle of the bay because of all the water covering the lawns; seaweed litters the street blocks away from the water, where the bay came roaring down the road. We talked to a friend whose house was destroyed by a fallen tree that nearly crushed her son. And this is just my town...a lot of nearby towns and areas are destroyed. The Fire Island National Seashore is completely destroyed...some of the most beautiful beaches you'll ever see (and a main source of $$ for Long Island) are gone. This will take years to recover from.

Very happy you're ok, jmp!

I'm equally sad for those of you affected by the damage. I lived through Andrew and can empathize. Dead on when you say years, and even then it won't be the same. Just think about how old those trees were... That was one of the things after Andrew. Even though the infrastructure got cleaned up and buildings fixed, it never looked the same without the trees. Like you our house survived relatively unscathed in Andrew while houses all around us got completely leveled. It was weird. One block over there was a roof lying in the middle of the street. I will never forget it.

We really got lucky we are 20 minutes inland. Check out the before and after photos. Except for NY these are all within 30 minutes of me and places I regularly visit. I still have a few ticket books for the piers.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/0 ... 68996.html

Glad to hear you, your family, and your brother are fine!!

Thanks, JL!