Desperate times call for desperate measures in Jersey

Unfortunately, I never made it home yesterday. I was zigzagging through detours, trying to make it out of Belmar to get to the Garden State Parkway, when a man ran a stop sign, and we collided. The guy was looking in the totally opposite direction (while driving!), and all I could do was slam on my brakes and scream my head off. I must have closed my eyes at the last minute, but I heard and felt the crash. When I opened my eyes again, I could see the other driver staring at me in shock.

Photo by Kelley Anne Essinger
Out back The Cabin Restaurant, a
cook grills up hot lunches for
desperate customers.

After shouting to myself some more, I backed out of the street to the side of the road. By the time I jumped out of my car, a few local residents had come out of their homes to make sure everyone was okay. One of them called 911.

After assessing the front of my car for damage (a leaking radiator and a crumpled up hood and bumper) I shed a few tears, and then called a friend. While waiting for him to arrive, the other driver tried to assure me he hadn’t run the stop sign. When the cop finally made it to the scene of the accident, I was reassured the collision hadn’t been my fault (thank goodness), and my car was immediately towed.

Trying to find a rental car during after a natural disaster has been a challenge. Most of the Enterprise Rent-a-Car facilities are either without power or working cars, or they’re simply overbooked. 

I just want to get back home and report for The SandPaper, LBI’s small, local newsmagazine. My heart is breaking for everyone along the east coast who has been affected by Hurricane Sandy. I need to be with my community!

After driving to Wal-Mart with a friend, looking for food, water and fire, we headed out to Freehold, where we stopped for lunch at The Cabin — a restaurant without power, serving hundreds of people who are looking for a hot meal. Lunch was served in the dark, on paper plates and with plastic utensils. The kitchen was running on a couple of generators. There was even a cook stationed out back, firing up the grill. Everyone was friendly and kind. Our waiter said he and the rest of the staff had received many compliments for their efforts serving the community in such dire times.

Bright and early tomorrow morning, I’ll be heading up to Medford to retrieve a rental car. Then I’m heading straight home, where I’ll begin reporting news for the LBI-region. Stay posted, friends!