My wife is a TV reporter in Brooklyn.  She's had an extraordinary week, to say the least.   I have been watching some of her stories online, and she has been reporting on lots of people who's lives were instantly changed by the storm.  She told me that much of it is similar to stories she had after the flooding here in 2006; property damage that wasn't covered by insurance, and people without homes.  She's been lucky however, to be able to drive back to a home that wasn't flooded, and with electricity.  All that driving meant that Friday night she needed to get gas for her car, and that's been a whole other problem for those who were hit hardest by Sandy.

Friday night around 9:15, she called me to say she had just gotten in line for gas.  She said she saw a gas truck driving in front of her on the way home, and since she was down to a quarter-tank, she would follow the truck to whatever gas station it went to, and get gas.  When she got to that station, there was already a line.  While we were talking on the phone, a man from the station walked up to her, and gave her this number:

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She was 93rd in line for gas.  At 9:15 at night.  The man who gave her the number told her two things.  First, she would definitely get gas, as they had enough.  Second, it would be less than an hour to get to her.

The man was half right.  She did get gas, but it took 3 hours.  She, like everyone else, filled her tank and went home.  This may seem pretty inconvenient, but after hearing stories of 6 hour waits and fights at the pump, she was glad to be on her way.

Saturday she drove by that same station, and it was out of gas.  You have to be quick, I guess.  Next time we are warned about a big storm coming our way, the first thing I am going to do is fill my gas tank.  It seems like the simplest thing, but it will go a long way toward peace-of-mind later on.

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