The death count for Hurricane Irene is now up to 40. We joked that it was non-event here in the boroughs, but looking at the damage she caused elsewhere, we should thank our lucky stars it wasn’t worse.

This NY Times photo struck a chord. This poor woman was in the middle of restoring her 200+ year old house. You know she loved that house because she took the time to scrap the paint and brighten it up instead of slapping on some siding. I can sympathize with her loss because I know how I’d feel if I put in hours of work for nothing.

People’s homes and businesses are damaged all the time in natural disasters. As long as everyone survives (pets included), it’s just a building. And possessions. Hopefully, insurance covers enough so that people don’t end up with nothing. But you can’t replace the intangibles. The memories. The time spent working to make it yours.

Memories fade and time passes no matter what. Money comes back. It must hurt to have them stolen in a single day though.