Sandy, Three Weeks On

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We propose Bono sell limited-edition, signed Irish mullet replicas to help raise additional funds.

Back in 1984, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” was released to raise money for drought-ravaged Ethiopia. The thing I always remember about the song is that one line where Bono (Irish mullet and all) screams, “Well, tonight thank God it’s them, instead of you.”

That always struck me as kinda harsh. Let’s thank God other people are starving instead of me? Not exactly what you want to throw on your Christmas card.

Fast forward a zillion years and I think I have a better idea of what Bob Geldoff was trying to get at with that lyric. Move my house a few miles east and, well, maybe it’s not all there any more. Maybe the kitchen was last seen around the Azores and the better part of the roof is something you need to drive two miles down the highway to find. “Be glad it wasn’t you,” might’ve been a kinder way of putting it than what Bono wound up singing.

That sentiment’s been running through my head a lot this past month. Because in towns neighboring mine and all up and down the (real) Jersey Shore, folks’ lives have been changed forever. We will rebuild, yes, but that doesn’t change the fact that what was here is gone forever. Or that there are people in JDP’s community who are spending these holidays homeless, facing a very difficult future.

So what can you do to help? Simply, um, help.

First stop: remember that thing I said about houses disappearing? Well, one of them was owned by Jon Zois. It was a 150-year-old Princess Cottage — and a big chunk of it’s gone. The damaged home graced the cover of our November Issue and on the back cover was a link to the fund set up to help Jon rebuild. You can go directly to it here.

But let’s say you’re not feeling completely altruistic and want to get something back for your good graces. May we suggest the Springsteen photo raffle being hosted by the good people over at Backstreets Magazine? This is a pretty amazing deal. Donate $25 to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey and you’re entered for a chance to win one of twenty extremely rare and exclusive photo prints, like, say, the photographer’s proof of the Nebraska cover (we’ll let the magnitude of that sink in for a moment if you’re a genuine Bruce fan). Personally I’m hoping for the shot from 1978 taken by Bruce’s girlfriend of Springsteen with the three state troopers who pulled him over for speeding — on Highway 9. (Yes, they let him off in exchange for a picture.)

Speaking of food banks…how much did Sandy suck? It actually (almost) killed one. Project Paul serves the Bayshore Community on the northern end of the Jersey Shore. In addition to providing food to local citizens in need, it also operates a thrift store in Keansburg. Unfortunately, said store (and the food pantry) were under three feet of water earlier this month. So they’re really rebuilding from scratch. Cash donations can be made via PayPal to help this important local resource get back to serving others.

Finally, there’s always that all-encompassing help-blanket known as the Red Cross. Their Sandy fund is a simple, easy way to contribute to people affected by the hurricane not only in Jersey, but all over the Mid-Atlantic region. We’re perhaps understandably focused on our home state, but we know others have been hit just as hard.

So, please help however you can, as much as you can.

Have a great Thanksgiving. And, tonight, well, you know…

The 2013 JDP Poetry Issue Is Now Accepting Submissions

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Write poetry better than Spike to enter!

Congratulations are in order. Laura Garrison is JDP’s new Associate Editor. Laura’s been with JDP for over a year, doing yeoman’s work sorting through the slushpile. In her new position, she’ll continue to help Mike do battle with the aforementioned slush, but will also a) have a much cooler title and b) serve as guest editor for JDP’s first-ever all-poetry issue, to be published next summer.

This is one of three special issues JDP will publish in 2013 so keep checking back for more info on the other two, which are rumored to involve words that rhyme with “snovella” and “slovecraft.” In the meantime, peruse the guidelines Laura drew up for next summer’s poetry issue and dazzle us with the effulgence of your words.

Guidelines

1. All poems must have a discernible speculative element. We would love to see some poems inspired by myths and legends, so if you have written a ballad about Davy Crockett fighting werewolves in outer space and weren’t sure where to send it, your prayers to Poseidon have just been answered (and ours, too). But we’re open to anything with an otherworldly component.

2. We are particularly interested in metrical poems of all kinds: blank verse, sonnets, villanelles, sestinas, limericks, made-up forms, etc. Rhyming is okay, even encouraged, as long as it is clever. We are impressed by powerful, unique imagery and playful use of sound. Oh, and at least one of us has a soft spot for scifaiku. We will consider free verse poetry, but it should not feel like prose that’s been diced by a sushi chef, or like someone’s drunken ramblings.

3. Humor, whether dark or light, is always a plus. Scary poems can be cool, too. (Poe, anyone?) Just don’t send anything that will make us want to hang ourselves.

4. You may submit up to 100 lines of poetry (excluding titles) in a single document. It can be one long poem or several shorter poems, as long as the total line count does not exceed one hundred.

5. No reprints; only freshly baked poems will be considered. This also means you should avoid sending the poetic equivalent of cheetos you found under your sofa cushions.

6. The deadline for submissions is June 1st.

7. Submit your poems here.

Still Standing, with a New Issue

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Much like the pictured house — located in the town next to editor Mike Sweeney’s — JDP and most of Jersey are still standing, but more than a little worse for wear. Seriously, what you’ve read and seen on the news doesn’t begin to cover the devastation. Areas are decimated; people have lost their homes. Businesses and attractions New Jerseyans grew up with are gone forever.

We posted a link of volunteer and donation opportunities earlier, compiled by NJ.com. You can find it here if you’re in the area. And if you’re not, trust us, good cold cash is always welcome. The Red Cross has set up a specific Sandy relief fund.

While we’re understandably pre-occupied with our homeland, the folks in neighboring Staten Island and Long Island, as well as other communities up and down the mid-Atlantic region, were also hit incredibly hard. That Red Cross fund goes to support all of Sandy’s victims.

Finally, just a quick word about the men and women who work for Jersey’s main power company, JCP&L. The company itself has taken a lot of heat, but, in fairness, they had 1.3 million people without power, about five times the size of any previous power outage on state record. In the past week, they’ve restored power to almost a million homes. That’s still way too many people without power, but we extend our thanks to the linemen and forestry workers, most of whom have been working 16-hour shifts. Yell all you want at corporate JCP&L, but the dudes and dudettes in the bucket trucks are doing incredible work. Thanks are also owed to the thousands of power crews brought in from out of state to help by FEMA. They were put up at Fort Monmouth, a few miles south of JDP’s secret headquarters.

(And next time we build an underground lair, someone remind us to install a back-up generator.)

Since Mike Sweeney was the JDP staffer most directly affected by Sandy (spending over five days without power and pretty sure he was going to wake up in Oz the night of the storm), it’s perhaps appropriate that the new issue is a collection of a few of his favorite things, starting with old JDP friend, Craig Wallwork, returning to write about the Minotaur, and a tale by newcomer Max Vande Vaarst that mythologizes a forgotten moment in Jersey’s history just the way we love at JDP. We’ve also got a well-written tale about people going insane in Antarctica (always a crowd pleaser) and an absolutely beautiful little piece about a small primate showing up in a very odd place.

So if you’re in Jersey or one of the nearby affected areas, we hope you’ll print out a copy of the November Issue and enjoy it by flashlight in the event that tonight’s snowstorm and 60 mph gusts knock out your heat and power (again). As for the rest of you, enjoy the issue normally, please keep a good thought for the people of the Garden State (especially those still without heat and power), and do whatever you can to help the survivors of Sandy.

Oh, and, as always, beware the Giant Vacuum Men.