"Sounds of Silence"

“Hello darkness, my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again.”

These are the opening words to the classic Simon & Garfunkel song, “Sounds of Silence.” Words which had been reverberating in my mind this week, for sure.

On Tuesday, Tropical Storm Isaias arrived in New Jersey. With a fury and intensity that reminded us that a tropical storm with 70 m.p.h. sustained winds is nearly a hurricane, the state was clobbered. 

At 12:31 p.m., the power went. First there was a flicker. Then there was nothing. 

Outside, the rain was pelting the road and the trees were swaying, in a staccato-like rhythm. With one big burst, a very large limb tore from the tree in front of the house, one of three sizable ones to break away in the storm. This one bounced off of the roof near the bay window, settling in front of the steps and into a newly set garden. 

With the rain pelting down on me and the wind growling ominously, I went outside to survey the damage. I had to climb over the limb to see that a small chunk of roof shingles and wood was exposed to the elements. It could have been much worse. 

I knew that I had to move the branch to allow ingress and egress to the house. I grabbed my branch cutter and went to work. Piece after piece I cut, making the huge limb lighter and a bit easier to move. Meanwhile, the winds howled in that moaning sound, a deafening, constant reminder of the fierceness of the storm as it headed north, the center somewhere in eastern Pennsylvania.

After a tough 20 minutes of work, I had cut enough small branches from the big one that I was, with a great effort, able to move it away from its landing spot to a new one, square on the front lawn. The rain stopped, and I started the task of picking up the debris and moving it to the curb. Lots of debris. 

I went to the backyard and spent a lot of time taking more small and medium branches to the front curb. After an hour, I was drenched in sweat and I entered the house. Where it was grey and humid.

Then the thought hit me—Superstorm Sandy. As unpleasant a time as I have had in my life. With Sandy, we knew how massive the storm was and we expected the worst. I recall sitting in the den, watching TV, and bang, everything went dark. 

It was the beginning of an eight day nightmare of no heat, lost food in the freezers and refrigerators, darkness and being cut off from the world. Eventually we learned the magnitude of the damage when we were able to charge our phones. Day after day, night after night there was nothing to do other than listen to the portable generators hum and hope that the ink black darkness of the night would miraculously become fluorescent. 

We were luckier than many others, as we had power in just over a week. It was the beginning of my retirement, and what a way to start it.

My wife and I vowed to purchase a generator, but we were scared off by the costs involved. So we rolled the dice. On August 4, 2020, our luck ran out.

Almost all of our food spoiled. We ordered in what we could from towns less harmed than Springfield. Peanut butter and bread became a lunchtime staple. All meals were eaten out on the patio. 

It was warm this time around. In the mid to upper 80’s. The house stayed in the 70’s and reached 81 degrees one afternoon. It was no haven. 

Carrying flashlights after 8:00 was necessary. Showers to cool the body down occurred at night, by battery power. Except that the showers never quite cooled us. 

Bedtime came early—I had the two best nights of sleep I had in months sequestered on the cellar couch. It was so dark and quiet—until I went up one flight and heard the chorus of generators in the neighborhood. We definitely were not dancing in the dark. 

The routine repeated itself, with car trips to secure food or to break the monotony. Rumors persisted that JCP&L, a notoriously bad power company, would not repair the damaged circuits until Tuesday, a glum forecast. 

Anger persisted. First, it was self-directed for not doing the right thing and buying  a generator and having the house wired. Then it was focused on JCP&L, who had well over a million customers without power in New Jersey. How could they not be better prepared and why would we have to wait a full week to return to normal, we asked ourselves. 

The roof was fixed. The spoiled food was tossed. The landscaper came and chopped off the bad branch. The sun shone after a night of rain. 

We kept our devices powered at the local recreation department, taking two or more hours a day to do this. The media was all over the storm—both in print as well as digitally. 

On our Friday morning trip to the rec center, we saw electric company trucks in droves on the Springfield streets. The word was that we should have power by 11:59 p.m. on Friday. 

There was a nervousness, which made us question if this was true. Suddenly, trucks from Alabama Power and Ohio Edison were on the street. We had just finished our lunch on the patio and I walked into the house. The lights were on. A little past 1:00. 

We shut the windows, made sure the kitchen refrigerator, which had received a thorough cleaning the day before, was running. It was. Within an hour the temperature was back to a cool 71 degrees indoors. 

For us, the ordeal was over. Good thing, too, because thunderstorms arrived in the afternoon and continued into the night. We were happy, but we felt for those who still had no power. I heard that Overlook Medical Center in nearby Summit had to turn away patients due to power problems. With the day of the coronavirus still very much present, that was not good news.

A lesson had been painfully learned. On my list of things to do besides submit my damage claim to Allstate is to call my electrician and discuss in earnest how to wire the house for a generator. It may not make the house cooler to sleep in, but it will definitely save the food from being lost a third time. With a very active hurricane season and strong fall and winter storms hitting New Jersey, a generator is a necessity. 

I kept tabs on baseball, basketball, hockey and of course, football. The Yankees had to play one game in New York against the Phillies on Monday, then play two seven inning games on Wednesday in Philadelphia, with the grey-clad Bombers the home team. Then off to St. Petersburg for a four game set with the Rays in three days. 

Aaron Judge, D.J. Le Mahieu and Gerrit Cole still led the team, propelling them to a 10-4 mark. Of concern is catcher Gary Sanchez, whose batting average was below .100. Overall, the starting pitching was not good besides Cole, which left it to the hot bats to carry the squad. 

The Dodgers, Rockies, Athletics, Twins and Cubs were the top teams in the early going. Yet leading the NL East are the Marlins, back from COVID exile. I wonder how long that will last.

MLB has a serious issue with the Cardinals. More positive tests returned and have kept St. Louis from playing since July 29. This weekend’s showcase series in Chicago has been postponed. If more positive tests are forthcoming, what will MLB do with the franchise when it appears that the other 29 teams are starting to get it right? Good question. 

Hockey has had some major upsets, as Montreal, the #12 seed in the East, took down the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby, shutting the Pens out in the final on Crosby’s birthday. The Chicago Blackhawks rose up and took down the homesteading Edmonton Oilers. The Islanders, Arizona and Vancouver have punched their tickets to the next round. Toronto won a dramatic overtime contest at home to force a deciding fifth game against Columbus. 

Philadelphia and Tampa Bay are playing for the top spot in the East, while Vegas and Colorado vie for the top seed in the West. Both Boston and St. Louis, the teams with the best records in each conference when play was halted, did not fare well in the round-robin format. 

The NBA continues its short season en route to the playoffs. Brooklyn, despite not being at full strength, secured a playoff berth. Philadelphia lost point guard Ben Simmons to a subluxation of the knee and surgery. Milwaukee, Toronto and Boston are the East leaders, but they do not look like world beaters. 

In the West, the Lakers are the first seed, but are not playing like one. Houston has looked good in stretches. There is a wide open competition for the last spot in the West between Memphis, Portland, San Antonio’s New Orleans and Phoenix. Damien Lillard has played sensationally leading Portland to the brink of the playoffs. 

Over 60 players opted out this season in the NFL. Training camp is on, without a bubble. Note this—both the NHL and NBA had no positive tests the past two weeks because they have bubbles. Wait until somebody breaks self-quarantine.

College football is a mess. The Power 5 is determined to play. Notwithstanding that Rutgers had a whopping 28 players test positive. Independent U Conn, the Mid-America Conference have both shut down for the fall; Division II and III will not have football championships this year. As I read on line from a former RU players—when are the colleges going to face the inevitable?

To quote Simon and Garfunkel once more:

“Fools,” said I, “you do not know

Silence, like a cancer, grows

Hear my words that I might teach you

Take my arms that I might reach you.”

But my words, like sent raindrops fell

And echoed in the wells, of silence

And the people bowed and prayed

To the neon god they made

And the sign flashed out its warning

In the words that it was forming

And the sign said, “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls

And tenement halls”

And whispered in the sounds of silence.

Be safe out there.