Julija and Ana were once extremely close. In fact, she seemed a shoe-in to be a bridesmaid at our wedding next year (the site of which has been severely damaged by Sandy) and even lived with us briefly while searching for a new home. Julija lived just a block and a half from the east shore in New Dorp, off Cedar Grove Avenue, one of the most devastated blocks on the island. Thanks to her last Facebook update, we knew that she had stubbornly refused to evacuate her one floor bungalow and chose to ride out the storm with her two Blue Nose pitbulls, Skye and Figgy. There was some concern, but worry turned into an immediate need for action when our spotty Verizon service allowed us to glimpse photos from the neighborhood on Facebook. An entire playground had been ripped up, several homes had completely collapsed, and others still stood, but were no longer on their foundations.

Photo: Courtesy of Ron Hill