Page 12 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • November 21, 2012 Dear Readers: I can state with the utmost certainty that everyone reading this will forever remember the last few weeks for the rest of their lives. Never has a weather event affected so many we know in such a profound way. Everyone in Wyckoff and the surrounding towns was personally affected in some way by Hurricane Sandy. Most people reading this letter did not have the basic necessities, including light and heat, or the luxuries of television and computers. The power was out for longer then we can ever remember. The lucky ones who managed not to lose power were affected in their daily lives by long lines at the gasoline pumps and major disruptions to public transportation infrastructure. Many of us have read about the abundance of heroes, such as the first responders in Far Rockaway and at the Jersey Shore, two areas that were devastated by the superstorm. Our local Township of Wyckoff employees -- from the mayor and the staff at town hall to the police and the volunteer fire department and ambulance squad -- all did a great job. They should be proud of the work they did, and Wyckoff citizens should be proud of all of them. We can never give them enough credit. With all the advancements in science and modern technology, this is a lesson learned that we are not as strong as Mother Nature. No one escaped the wrath of this storm. The bright side of this event is that I think many of us came away with a better sense of who our neighbors are. There was something about being out in the street before dark with the knowledge that no light or heat would be coming on that evening that brought many of us closer together. Obviously, our communities in northern New Jersey were the lucky ones. Many of us were not able to see the scenes of the devastation on TV until a week after the storm, but the damage in Far Rockaway, my hometown of Brooklyn, the Jersey Shore, and Long Island was such that we could only gasp in horror as we watched. We survived. The business community survived. As I write this, the power has been restored to 100 percent of Wyckoff. As the daylight hours get shorter and we have light and heat to go home to, let us not forget that there are people living within a short drive who still do not have those basic comforts. Hopefully, they will within a very short amount of time. As I always ask in this column, please remember your local businesses in town. We were closed for business and suffered to a far greater degree financially than the national stores or Internet sites. Please make it a priority to shop locally and have a joyful Thanksgiving and holiday season. Jay Vidockler, President Wyckoff Chamber of Commerce