Hurricane Sandy has now completed her swing through the northeastern United States and the damage photos and news reports are very stressful to watch, even for those of us who live far from the destruction. What is the saying, "if not for the grace of God, there go I!"
I live in Florida, we generally have one or two scares every year with hurricanes, but it has now been over seven years since any portion of the state took a major hit from a hurricane. Others have not been so lucky!
Now, the Northeastern US is in the process of recovering from a catastrophic even caused by Hurricane Sandy and a sporting event has come into play.
The annual New York City Marathon is scheduled to be run this Sunday, November 4th. Many of the people involved, paid organizers and volunteers have been severely affected, have lost their homes, do not yet have power restored and yet the mayor of New York has stated that the event will be run as scheduled.
The mayor did however, ask the National Basketball Association (NBA) to cancel a scheduled game pairing the New York Knicks and the Brooklyn Nets to cancel their scheduled game tonight, stating that the mass transit system is not yet functioning and the police are needed elsewhere.
What is going to happen in the next 72 hours that will cure the losses of so many and allow this event to "run" as scheduled? Why can't the NYC Marathon be postponed for a few weeks or even canceled? My guess is that revenue to the city and metropolitan area is at stake to the tune of millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars.
A sad thought when so many are still suffering and will be long after the winner is crowned and forgotten!
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