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I remember the day we moved in.  The house was old.  My dad bought it without my mother ever seeing it.  The stairs creaked as my brother and I raced up the stairs to claim our bedroom.  I got the one in front.  The window seats would work perfectly for my many dolls.  Memories surface of days when I played teacher with my little sister perched in the middle of the dolls.  They made perfect students!

My baby sister and parents settled in downstairs bedrooms.  There was one bathroom and it was downstairs.  There was an outdoor well in the backyard that would occasionally overflow when the tide was very high.  Yuck; I can still recall that smell.

But the best part of living here in Lindenhurst was being near the water.  The canal was across the street.  Clam boats lined the docks.  The boat yards were easily navigated and I found I could run through them jumping from dock to dock.  The smell of salt water was in the air.

I had undergone open heart surgery less than one year earlier.  This was a fresh start for my family.  A day to build roots in a new community.  A place to create memories.  A time to get to know our neighbors and stay put.

I moved to Lindenhurst, Long Island in 1961.  Although I've since moved cross country, this is where my roots were established.  And today my hometown is hurting after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.  The canal I loved overflowed and flooded my old neighborhood.

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I wrote about the impact of the hurricane on Lindenhurst in a post here.  Please continue to pray for those who still cannot return to their homes.

Blessings and love,

Photo Credit: Lisa Huber

Hurricane Sandy pummeled the northeast this past week.  Although the storm is over, the devastation is only now being fully revealed. It was brought home for me as my hometown of Lindenhurst, Long Island was greatly impacted.

The above photo used to be Barnacle Bill's Restaurant; a well known fresh seafood eatery located on the corner of Montauk Highway and Roosevelt Avenue.  It's since changed hands but the flooding can be seen as the canal behind it overflowed.

The view down Roosevelt Avenue from Montauk Highway

Rutherig Marine on Roosevelt Avenue in Lindenhurst

The three photos were taken by Lisa Huber.  Lisa grew up on Gulf Street which intersects at the end of Roosevelt Avenue.  Her mom was my babysitter when my brother Steve and sister Christine were growing up.  We keep in touch through Facebook.

When you're from Lindenhurst, you stick together.  That's the kind of place it is.  No matter how long you've been gone, it's still home.

Lisa grew up in the same house her grandparents raised their family. Her mom and dad continue to live there to this day.  Hurricane Sandy brought devastation upon them.  Five feet of water accumulated in their basement.  There was much damage and power was out for days.  As Lisa updated friends and family on Facebook, she was amazed that vandals were occurring despite the presence of the National Guard.

Lindenhurst is a working class town.  People get to know one another.  My formative years were spent here.


I lived across the street from the canal.  Boat docks dotted the landscape outside my windows.  Our two story house had a flat roof. A hatch opened up from my brother's bedroom to the top where we could climb up a rickety ladder and sit and watch the stars at night. Many of our friends were paraded up those stairs to stand on the roof to catch a great view of the bay and the ocean beyond.


Clam boats lined the docks.  In the early morning hours, people like my friend Robyn's dad could be seen boarding his clam boat to set out and gather clams in the Great South Bay.  He returned with full nets to sell to the local restaurants.    

Social media can be fickle.  People tune in to the news when disaster strikes.  But once the event is over, attention goes elsewhere.  I have to admit that I've been like that too.

But when a disaster impacts a place you love and people you care about, it changes everything.  

Many people and places other than Lindenhurst were devastated by Hurricane Sandy.  But this one hits home for me.  Watching this news video brought tears to my eyes.



Please continue to pray for all the people impacted by Hurricane Sandy.  We get to go back to life as usual.  But for many, life will not be the same for many years to come.

Blessings and love,