October 2012: Superstorm Sandy
October 2013: The ocean continues to return bits of what it stole last year. This piece of boardwalk was washed up on to the tide line this month in a nor’easter.
The one year anniversary coverage in the press is significant, but the recovery is far from complete. Yes, most boardwalks were restored. Yes, innumerable business reopened. But there is still so much to do to recover from this, the second costliest storm after Katrina.
Perhaps the bits and pieces of that appear on the tide line can serve as prompts to remind us of what still needs to be done to recover, although those whose lives are still in disarray do not need any reminders. Perhaps then these bits of what the ocean returns can serve as reminders to all of us of the sea’s potential to become furious, and of its unfathomable and often unpredictable power.
I love the ocean, the beach, the tide line, but this bit of boardwalk reminds me of what I was taught as a young child playing in the waves: “Never turn your back on the ocean.”
None of us should. Ever.
Tide Line Still Life 
Well said Maggie. We recently walked the Sea Girt Boardwalk in NJ, one of so many rebuilt after the storm. The restoration process has been awesome in such cases (I love the Sea Girt Imprint on each and every stanchion) but as you say we need to feel for the whole, the rest, so many that continue and will continue to fee the personal losses from that devastating storm. M
Thank you for this kind and thoughtful comment, Mark. I have a friend visiting from out of the country this week, and we have spent time on the beach, talking about the storm. I dug out my photos of Spring Lake’s spine of boardwalk foundations and marveled at the competed boardwalk yet again. Lots to do, but we should be proud of what has been accomplished, yes? BTW, tomorrow’s photo was taken in Sea Girt!
Small World. Marty (alias “Mark!”) 🙂