I am rapt, but amongst my people, it’s just not part of daily conversation. A contentious election with a lot at stake ranks as a distant concern.

To the rest of the nation and the world, forgive us for having ceased to participate in the national orgasm.

Daily conversation ranges to the mundane inconveniences brought on by spotty cell phone coverage, to thanks for warm showers, to need for food and clothes, to passing police checkpoints to reenter ones own neighborhood. I can’t turn down that road. It’s gone. A tree is in the way. A house is in the way.

Every third person you speak to has lost something. Everyone knows someone who has lost everything.

We’re living in a shocked culture, between the points of impact and recovery, dazed and reaching out. There is gas, there isn’t gas. They ran out. They’re getting more. I heard it. Where is more. What have you heard.

There is much you haven’t heard.

The view from the ground is shocking, surprising. Yes, people are coming in by boat and looting homes. Un-confirmable stories circulate that law enforcement has given the go ahead for people to defend their property on their own terms. Another story comes in detailing the unfortunate story of a pair of teens that drove through a wiped out neighborhood, videotaping and teasing the remaining residents. They were confronted and punished by the locals. Arriving police broke it up, then discovered evidence on video that this taunting had been ongoing in several locations.

That this has brought out the worst in people is balanced out somewhat by the evidence that it is also bringing out the best.

People are showing up in droves to volunteer. Charity is taking on new highs; a local restaurant has pledged it’s whole take for one night next week to go to the Red Cross, and the servers are sacrificing their tips. Down the street from them, none of the other restaurants have had power; no one has worked for a week. A random week with no income. Public estimates from the power company say repairs in the region overall will take another week. Two separate sources with unfiltered information estimate the wait will continue until Thanksgiving.

This is life on Long Island, as we continue Shaking Sandy. We hear there’s an election tomorrow.

Jane’s following is diverse, and the answers are interesting. Have a look

It’s here! The Question Of The Day iPhone App is available for upgrade and first time download (also on iPad).

This version is in full color, and features 12 new videos, bringing the total to 30.

We have now incorporated Tumblr sharing, and simplified use for Twitter. As always, the app shares through Facebook, Texting and Email. 

The long journey from book to app and back again is completed.  
We have come full circle.

Question Of The Day is out in bookstores. Today.

Thank you, everyone.

– Al

ART IS HARD: IT COMES TO LIFE

By popular demand, Question Of The Day is now available on Android .
133 Questions, with sharing options and 30 videos.

Come and get it! http://bit.ly/qotddroid

Music and Question Of The Day Book Event
Thursday, November 17 at 7:00pm
Thom Thom Steak and Seafood
3400 Park Ave
Wantagh, NY
(516) 221-8022

The new Question Of The Day is officially
available for sale today right here, at our publisher’s website.

And, we are up on Amazon.

So much more to come. Thanks for being here!