Joe,
I also live on Long Island (the eastern end) I too am quite surprised by the slow change back to the old ways. It takes a big tragedy to bring people together but it's odd that we can't be polite and civil just for the sake of it.

As for the 1 in 4 number I think that's on the high side. We have 6 people in our office right now and I’m the only one that you could call reasonably prepared. I think people in higher density areas are more prone to relying on the government for assistance.

I’ve had some major changes in my life over the past few years all of which make me feel like I should be better prepared than I was the day before.

Adam