I hope yesterday's post didn't depress you. That wasn't my intention, though much of what I saw made me sad. Rather, I was just trying to portray a bike ride that was--by intention as well as by accident--different from others I've done, even though it traversed routes I've taken many times before.
Plus, it put a few things in perspective. At first, I wondered--as I always do when I see a favorite bike route damaged--when things would be back to "normal". But I soon realized that "normal", at least as I'd defined it, no longer existed. Even if everything that was damaged or destroyed were to be rebuilt or reconstructed to a semblance of what was before the storms, things wouldn't be the same, for there would be the memory of what was.
But, more to the point, what is "normal" now for the people who lost homes or simply had their lives disrupted? A few might relocate. However, most, I suspect will stay. But even if their homes and communities were (or could be) restored to what they were before the storms, their lives have changed,and will change more.
Save for my bikes, books and cats, I may not have had much before the storm. But at least I didn't lose any of those things, or people who are in my life. I still could ride to the Rockaways; I have a wonderful bike to ride. Compared to the people I saw yesterday, I am indeed privileged.
Plus, it put a few things in perspective. At first, I wondered--as I always do when I see a favorite bike route damaged--when things would be back to "normal". But I soon realized that "normal", at least as I'd defined it, no longer existed. Even if everything that was damaged or destroyed were to be rebuilt or reconstructed to a semblance of what was before the storms, things wouldn't be the same, for there would be the memory of what was.
But, more to the point, what is "normal" now for the people who lost homes or simply had their lives disrupted? A few might relocate. However, most, I suspect will stay. But even if their homes and communities were (or could be) restored to what they were before the storms, their lives have changed,and will change more.
Save for my bikes, books and cats, I may not have had much before the storm. But at least I didn't lose any of those things, or people who are in my life. I still could ride to the Rockaways; I have a wonderful bike to ride. Compared to the people I saw yesterday, I am indeed privileged.
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