Parkland Press

After more than six days without power, the popping drone of the generator began to sound as normal as the chirping birds and the occasional passing car I used to hear.

"When are you supposed to get your power back?" I was asked Friday.

"Christmas," I said.

The other person paused briefly as if startled.

"Oh, my word," she said. "You're serious!"

Almost.

A sense of humor definitely helped my husband, Sean, and I deal with the circumstances. But beneath the humor lies a grain of truth.

Sandy...

a nickname for my sister

Now a historic storm

The "perfect storm"

Brought about by climate change

Millions of our citizens affected....

by storm surge or flooding

Loss of electrical power

Disruption

Displacement

Some lost their lives

Others lost everything...

except relationships

Community comes together at such times

...times of crisis

Community...

that is what enables us to move on...

Even on an island...a sandy island

we are not alone

And God is with us...

The American Red Cross of the Lehigh Valley has opened two evacuation shelters, one at UGI, 2121 City Line Road, Bethlehem; the second at the Allentown Fairgrounds, 17th and Chew streets, for people needing to leave their homes during the weather events related to Hurricane Sandy.

Cots and blankets, meals and emotional care will be provided.

That is the question

Whether it is better to refrain

from voicing our opinion

Or living with the results

of our decisions

Is something each citizen of voting age

has to decide

Could it be that you have always

voted for the WRONG man?

To that, I reply,

Elect a woman!

Could it be that you feel your vote

will not count?

It will if you are registered!

Could it be that you are disappointed

with the quality of each candidate?

Think of how each of us

has disappointed someone

at some time

I don't know about you, but the amount of information presented during the presidential and vice presidential debates this year sometimes left my head spinning.

While I found it easy, as each debate concluded, to determine which candidate presented himself most admirably, knowing how to interpret the purported "facts" presented was a challenge with which I needed some help.

The candidates spent weeks preparing for these debates, carefully crafting ways of presenting their viewpoints that would read well to their target audiences.

Do you feel you have enough information to make an educated decision on election day?

"... Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and they're always glad you came ... You wanna be where everybody knows your name ..." ("Cheers" theme song "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo)

There once was a time in this country when a man's word was his bond and children were told by their parents not to bring shame upon the family name.

Doors were left unlocked and youngsters played outside freely and unsupervised.

Pennsylvania voters not required to show photo ID when voting.

In 1907, Samuel Adams wrote about the right to vote.

"Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country. "

When State Rep. Daryl Metcalf, R-12th, Butler County, decided to introduce legislation to require voter identification in March 2011, the ability to vote in Pennsylvania came into question.