Since Tuesday morning I've been trying to figure out the words to express what has happened. I mean I'm not there. I haven't been there for over seven years now. But yet when I was sitting at the computer manning Twitter and news sites I felt like I was watching my home fall apart from a far.
No l didn't suffer power outages, flooding or property damage. I'm not dealing with hour plus lines at the gas stations or down phone signals. Yet it feels like a piece of my heart broke.
What can I possibly say? All the people I care about are okay. Between texts and social media, I know everyone is fine.
But something like this isn't supposed to hit home. I say the word home, because I still have alot of connections there. My past branches from there, I grew up in Jersey. I'm a Jersey boy, born and bred. I used to goto the shore every summer, and going into the city was always a big deal.
9/11 happened in my backyard practically and I remember hearing alot of people say this was our "Where Were You When" moment for our generation. Now this happened.
I'm not a big cryer. But in Wednesday when I saw the video of Seaside, I wasn't mentally prepared for it. I lost it, broke down and all I kept saying "This can't be. It's all gone. It's gone. I can't be gone." Years of memories were literally in the ocean. Then I kept watching video and listening to audio from the area, lower Manhattan is dark, Staten Island barely exists anymore. It felt like I was watching a nightmare, but it was real.
All this proved no matter how much I've grown up, I'm still the Jersey boy I was seven years ago, just grown up and wiser.
I want my friends and family to know I'm here, even if it's just a conversation via texting because your phone is still down.
I decided to pick up a couple of rebuild the shore shirts for charity, and I will proudly wear them around here. I'm not ashamed of where I come from and will continue to support those who need it.
I'm still proud to be homegrown Jersey. That will never change and this week proved that.
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