They warned us that Sandy was coming. They warned us not to be complacent, not to assume that Sandy would, like Irene before it, largely leave our corner of New Jersey unscathed. We slept in the basement for Irene, our kids nervous about the storm and what damage it might bring despite our reassurances.
But Sandy would be worse than Irene, meteorologists promised. We heeded them—we thought. My wife Lauren and I are over-preparers; they say storm, we say how high, as in: How high should our cases of environmentally unfriendly water get stacked? We stuffed the fridge and freezer, as that keeps the contents colder longer if the power goes out. We bought oodles of non-perishables and batteries. We topped up the sump pump’s backup...
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