progressing toward normalcy

Like many Americans, I've been captivated by news coverage of Hurricane Sandy. As a lifelong Midwesterner, these weather events rarely have a direct impact on my life, but I've always had a tremendous interest in how others are able to recover from such storms. I can only imagine then that this story about the re-opening of public libraries in Staten Island shows that things are very slowly returning to normal in New York City and beyond. Public libraries serve as, amongst other things, a stabilizing, unifying place in our communities. That they're re-opening in these hurricane-stricken areas is a great sign.