Sandy Beach

I admit it, I do love the beach.
Unfortunately, the close proximity of the ocean means having to put up with hurricanes.
And it was in the news for the past couple of weeks.  Now it's all over.
Hurricane Sandy unleashed its fury on the Northeast, but fortunately for us on the western side of the Keystone State, it was more of a dalliance than a disaster.
We had some areas without power for a couple days due to some downed lines.  Basement pumpouts were keeping firefighters busy.  Electricity crews on call either slept in or were dispatched to help our more easterly neighbors.
Hurricanes have never been common in my part of Pennsylvania.  Aside from flooded roadways that all but marooned me at my hilltop house in Ford City during 2004's Hurricane Ivan, we've never had trouble with the two other close calls we've had in the past decade...Isabel in 2003 and most recently, Sandy.
This time, the lights didn't even blink.
Well, barely.  My wife reported a brief four-second interruption, but that was it.
The radio station I work for didn't even go off the air.
Schools responded by cancelling classes for the day.
I have friends in the New York City and Philadelphia areas who are still without power, and will be up until probably later on this week.
My prayers are with you folks.
New Yorkers, despite their negative reputation (a fabrication, in my opinion), are probably the most resilient people on the planet.  They have survived one of the highest murder rates in the country, the September 11th terrorist attacks, riots, gang warfare, you name it.
And they'll make it through this.
So will the folks in Philly.
And everywhere else.
Because we're Americans.
We complain about this country, the direction it's going economically, our weak foreign policy, our complacent elected leaders, and everything else under the sun.
But here's proof of our strength in numbers.
We as a people and a culture, stand united in the face of danger.
Whether it's from an enemy nation or natural disaster, we find the courage within ourselves to fight.
And win.
We've fought as a nation since 1775.  We're not about to stand still for a little bit of wind and water.


NEXT WEEK:  The People Have Spoken