Hurricane Sandy in New York City -- Feeling a little bit like Joe in Cinderella Man?

During the day, people seem normal. But are they -- feeling normal?

As I was walking to work yesterday (on Park Avenue going uptown), I thought to myself -- wow people are going to work with nice pressed shirts and are in their finest suits - and I look at myself - t-shirt, jeans and sneakers.  Was I the only one impacted by this storm? It sort of reminded me of the movie Cinderella Man, where Paul Giamatti's character, Joe Gould, acts as if he's one of the guys whose wearing a nice suit as he talks up Russell Crowe (Jim Braddock) to get him a boxing match.  However, when you look at what is really happening in his home - it's empty. Empty because he had to sell most of his belongings to get food amongst other necessities for him and his wife.  So, even Paul Giamatti's character was keeping up the pretense that everything is fine, when it was apparent that it wasn't.  Now, I know we aren't experiencing a depression in New York City, but we are going through a difficult time -- no power, no running water and many New Yorkers (and adjacent states) are now homeless as homes were destroyed during the storm.

So as I walked to work yesterday, I couldn't help but think about the movie - are people really ok? Sure, some people live in non-impacted areas (anything above 39th street on the east side and above 26th street on the west side did not lose power) and are fortunate to have things running normally.  But what about those that haven't returned to normalcy yet?  I am one of the fortunate few, who only lost power and water, and was able to seek refuge at a friend's apartment north of 39th street.  I also just picked up a few things from my home - a few simple cotton dresses, shoes, and some make up that I can wear to work.

But, how am I feeling?

I want a sense of normalcy in my life -- so, I appear normal on the outside -- I'm wearing make up and a cotton dress and appear a little less distressed.  However, on the inside I can't help but feel this heart-wrenching sadness that people have lost so much more and assistance needs to be given to those people in need. So even I have resorted to that character in the Cinderella Man -- we look okay on the outside, but on the inside, feel a sense of loss and sadness.  But now, I'm wondering how other people in New York are coping with this situation? More of the same?

I will try to take some photos for you today and share with you what I see and hear from people who live in or around New York City ...