Sandy

[hudebnik]

We've been remarkably fortunate in this storm. No damage to us, the dogs, the house, or the car. A large tree came down fifty feet from our front door, blocking an intersection and crushing a car, but it could have been much worse.

This morning, hearing news stories about gasoline shortages, I thought I ought to fill up the car if I saw an open station. On a morning errand, I passed several gas stations that all looked, at a quick glance, as though they were operating normally, so I concluded gasoline isn't really a problem in my neighborhood, so refilling the tank wasn't urgent. This afternoon shalmestere persuaded me to go out and fill the tank anyway, just to make sure.

Turns out those gas stations were not operating normally. The first dozen stations I looked at closely all either displayed a hand-lettered "NO GAS" sign, or had the pumps wrapped in police tape. Eventually I found a station with gasoline: I could tell because there was a line half a mile long of cars trying to get into it, plus about a hundred pedestrians carrying gas-cans. I chose not to spend several hours in that line, on the theory that by the time we really need to drive long distances, the distribution system will be functioning again.

Comments

[ilaine-dcmrn.livejournal.com]

At our daily department checkin conf call someone out on the island reported seeing a man pull a machete during an altercation over someone trying to cut the line for gas.

[unclrashid.livejournal.com]

I drove up to Madison, NJ from Hammonton, NJ today and we saw lines about that long to get into the service plazas on the turnpike, and the lines of a couple blocks long for non-highway gas stations. And a police car at every operating station, also. South of Trenton or so, things return to normal.