After a rough few days with no power, this Cape columnist and the entire community is starting to resume normal operations.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Graul’s was fully operational, along with the Riverbay Roadhouse and most of the businesses on the left side of the shopping center. 

The business on the right side of the shopping center, such as Broadneck Grill, the dry cleaners, the Shell station, and Pizza Hut were still without power. 

Cape True Value has been open since Sunday, running on generators and limited power. Kudos to them for trying to stay open to serve the Cape during the duration of the storm, even with lack of electrical power. 

Cape St. Claire Elementary School will remain closed on Wednesday due to lack of power. Some areas of the Cape may not have power until Friday. 

Irene brought many downed trees, some flooded basements and a big inconvenience to many Capers. Fortunately, we seemed to have escaped much significant damage or injuries. 

Many Capers kept each other up-to-date and entertained on the “I Live in Cape St. Claire” FaceBook page, with such themes as power outage updates, school closings, grocery stores that were open, and photos of some of the storm’s damage. 

As we continue to clean up, we also realize how much worse this storm could have been, and how lucky we were. Many Capers did a wonderful job of taking care of neighbors and friends during this pesky storm. That is what community is all about.