Recap: Mob Wives Season 3 - Episode 6: After The Storm

by: Kristy

 

Please let me take a moment and advise all of our followers/readers that this "MobWives Recap" is not our typical recap that we feature normally. This recap is dedicated to all those affected by the tragic events of Hurricane Sandy, the unity of a city and a nation, and a reminder that life is fragile. Thank You to all our faithful followers.

Hurricane Sandy was the most devastating blow that we as a nation had to experience in October 2012, it's impact is something that four months later people are still reeling from. No one was prepared for the destruction that Sandy would leave in her wake, however when forced to be face to face with the destruction people dug deep and charged through it! As the storm built it's force and made landfall around parts of the nation, we all sat in our homes and some of us stayed glued to our televisions for minute by minute news coverage.
 

The news coverage just did not bring justice to the deadly force Sandy was bringing with her. That being said, what our news media couldn't or wouldn't capture Jennifer Graziano, VH1, and our favorite faithful Mob Wives did. As my Twitter feed exploded within the first two minutes of the episode I made it a point to read each tweet closer then I've ever read my tweets before. The out pour of emotion was overwhelming and the impact of people reliving those traumatic days bleed through my screen. As I continued reading people sharing how they felt in those crucial moments and how they feel in the present day, I also saw those tweeting that it was cruel and disgusting that VH1 and the Mob Wives were "forcing" people to relive such trauma. Let me just say that VH1 forced no one to watch or relive anything, VH1 as a network along with the Mob Wives did what no other network was able to do, they gave a face and voice to people who truly felt forgotten and left to die. To anyone who feels it's wrong four months later to still look at images of Hurricane Sandy or speak of the destruction that was caused I would ask them to tell those people still rebuilding from the storm's wake to stop reliving that day.

In the first opening moments of Sunday's episode Drita talks with her daughters in their living room about the storm damage and the impact it had on people just two blocks from their home. Drita was in an Evacuation zone and waited out the storm with her daughters at her mother's, all made it through the storm safely and her home had no damage. The way Drita explained to the girls how important it was to donate and help all the children that lost everything even if they didn't know them was nothing short of heartwarming. They loaded bags of clothes, toys, and supplies they had in their home and donated to drop off locations. Ramona and Karen visited Christina a friend of Ramona's who lost everything. Christina described those moments of horror she experienced during the storm with her seven year old daughter. Ramona and Karen reassure her they are there for her and that family is most important. Big Ang did what was on her heart during this time and cooked all day to bring food and beverages to a disaster relief location. She wanted as many people as possible to have a hot meal and see a face to give them hope and reassurance. Angela lost her salon that she had less then two months, but she expressed how after seeing Sandy's aftermath the lose of the salon was a fleeting thought. Love visits her friend Stacey and Stacey describes the moments of the water level being chest high and she and her husband just escaping their home with moments to spare. Stacey talks about not being prepared and sadly many people in the affected areas were not prepared. Though with that said how do you really prepare for a savage storm that no one ever imagined would be as deadly as it turned out to be.
 

As the episode carried on there was a common denominator among all the ladies, their anger towards the hurricane ripping their borough apart. Renee talks with Ramona on the phone while still in Florida at rehab, Ramona tries her best to put the horror of devastation into words for Renee. Karen and Ramona drive door to door throughout the city delivering bags of supplies, money, and loving support to people. They both open up their homes to people as they can for a warm place to sleep if needed. Ramona sums it up best by saying that "Staten Island saved Staten Island" and they did just that! People came out in droves and donated supplies, time, money and most of all love hugs and support! When the news media "forgot" they had true devastation and were in need, the communities came out and took care of one another. Angela and Neil loaded the car with all the home cooked food and make their way to the relief location. Heartbreaking. There were so many precious children that had no concept of what just swept their home away, they just knew that it was gone. Angela's bar the Drunken Monkey became a central drop off location for people who wanted to contribute goods. She rented four box trucks and had trucks from other locations come in regularly picking up and dropping off supplies. The people of Staten Island truly showed they cared and showed what they are made of, New York always survives!

There were 24 U.S. states affected by Hurricane Sandy and 72 deaths in eight states which included 48 deaths in New York, 12 in New Jersey, 5 in Connecticut, 2 in Pennsylvania, 2 in Virginia, 1 in West Virgina, 1 in Maryland, and 1 in New Hampshire. I personally can not stress enough the admiration I have for everyone who donated and did what they could during people's darkest moments. I myself donated when and where I could, and always had prayers to send up! It's important to remember and show love to people because it's a nightmare that for many they have not been able to wake up from. If you'd like to donate for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts here are some places to consider:

Save the Children: www.SavetheChildren.org/U.S.
Red Cross: www.redcross.org
HSRF: http://sandyrelief.org

Thank you to each of our beautiful MobWives for their efforts and using their "star power" to raise awareness and bring hope to people who thought there was none to be had. Yes they truly were #MobWivesSavingLives! To all those who continue to rebuild their lives in Hurricane Sandy's wake I say God Bless and never loose hope because together we will rebuild!

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Photo Credit: VH1