It’s probably safe to say that everybody hates Sandy—the hurricane, that is. She claimed some 50 lives and left millions more without power and water in her ravenous wake. Simply put: Sandy sucks. But we shouldn’t let the pains caused by this so-called Superstorm tarnish one of the more fun, once-popular gender neutral names. Instead, let’s think of some Sandys we like.
This power outage is getting old, but the movie Grease never does, which is why this Pink Lady gets the No. 1 spot. Not unlike Sandy the storm, this Australian babe came from south of the equator to shake things up at a Rydell High, which could easily be in New Jersey, though the film never specifies. But instead of causing death and destruction with rain and harsh winds, Sandy won over the badass T-Birds of Rydell with her sweet poodle skirts and charming naiveté. If only the drama of this hurricane ended with everyone in New York realizing they love each other just the way they are, happily singing and dancing through Central Park. Not likely.
The singer, actress, author, and comedienne has been making America laugh since the late 1970s, something we all could use right now. She’s even included on Comedy Central’s list of the 100 Greatest Standups of All Time.
Sandra Lee would never destroy a home. On the other hand, she works to improve homes through her Food Network show Semi-Homemade. The TV cook has been teaching families of limited time or means to make delicious meals using a combination of prepackaged and fresh foods. She's also dating a Hurricane hero, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, so maybe she can offer some quick and cheap advice for putting the damaged parts of the state back together.
This Georgetown law student was thrown into the eye of a hateful media storm when House Republicans denied her the opportunity to argue for insurance-covered birth control before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. When she was finally allowed to speak to House Democrats, conservative personality Rush Limbaugh lashed out at Fluke, calling her a “slut” and a “prostitute” for wanting “you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex.” The resilient Fluke not only weathered the storm but became a well-known women’s rights activist, even being invited to speak at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
Five years after The O.C. went off the air, Peter Gallagher’s beloved character is still probably more popular than the hurricane that bares the same name. Sandy Cohen may have been Seth’s dad, but he was a father figure to all of the young wayward kids of Orange County. If only Sandy Cohen were here now, he’d sure know how to ease everyone’s stress in the wake of this hurricane.
She’s America’s Sweetheart. Sandra Bullock has won almost every award for which she’s been nominated, including an Oscar, and made it through some personal disasters of her own, including a very public divorce and fight to keep her adopted son.
The one Sandie that’s almost impossible to hate is made of shortbread and sometimes pecans. A big bag of these sweet treats might just be the perfect cure for the blackout blues.
At 82, retired justice Sandra Day O’Connor—the first woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court—may pack more punch than Frankenstorm. In 2009, O’Connor launched the nonprofit group iCivics to educate children across the country, expanding the program last May to include the Boys & Girls Club of America. That same year, President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S. When she’s not busy making the world a better place, O’Connor enjoys fly-fishing. Paul Warren, a lawyer in Montana, told The Daily Beast she “caught at least 15 trout” when they fished the state’s Big Horn River together last month.
Hurricane Sandy getting you down? Just think of the late, perennially peppy Sandra Dee. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed actress was best known for ingenue roles in feel-good 1960s films. In the Tammy movies, Dee played a naive 18-year-old lass from Mississippi who’s always looking for or singing about love in a sweet southern drawl that made men go weak at the knees. In Tammy and the Doctor, she finally finds it with Dr. Mark Cheswick (Peter Fonda).
Jewish baseball legend Sandy Koufax, 76, has kept a low profile since his 12-year career in the major leagues ended in 1966. But the Brooklyn-born Koufax was forced to come out in the public eye two years ago at a White House reception in honor of Jewish Heritage Month. President Obama applauded Koufax’s decision to bench himself on Yom Kippur. “We are both lefties. He can’t pitch on Yom Kippur. I can’t pitch,” the president joked. Koufax is still considered one of the greatest pitchers ever in major league history.
