Every black-clad, chain-smoking SoHo gallery owner and martini-lunching, town car-riding hedge fund manager started out life as a chubbly, freckle-faced kid from South Dakota.

Their parents and hometown newspapers were worried about them during the storm.

These are their stories:

"I'm fine, Mom…It's fine….Fine…Fine…I'm fine."

HEADLINE: SF Parents Talk With Daughter In Manhattan
WHERE: South Dakota
WHO: "Twenty-five-year-old Paige Weckwerth is a Sioux Falls native living in Manhattan."
HOME STATE SHOUT-OUT: "She's from South Dakota so she knows about storms and she certainly knows about high winds," [mother Ann] Parker Weckwerth said.
BEST LINE:

"You know, I look back at the texts and we're asking all these questions and the responses were, ‘I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine.' So, I think she'll be fine," Parker Weckwerth said."

The Oslers' Underwhelming Vacation

HEADLINE: In NYC, Oslers Experience Hurricane Sandy Up Close
WHERE: Nebraska
WHO: "An Imperial couple [John and Joan Osler] and their son and daughter-in-law [Scott and Debbi Osler] from Elsie got a first-hand look at the devastation in New York City from Hurricane Sandy."
A DREAM DEFERRED: "They were able to drive by Central Park, Ground Zero and Wall Street, but were unable to get out. They also drove by Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty but heavy mist ahead of the storm blocked their views."
BEST LINE:

"The first part of their trip took them to sights in Washington D.C., followed by stops along the Civil War battleground areas including Gettysburg."

A Storm-Ravaged City Is No Place for the Mother of a Famous Daughter

HEADLINE: Sandy Keeps Jackson Mother of Famous Daughter Stuck in New York
WHERE: Michigan
WHO: "What was planned to be a long weekend visiting her famous daughter and family in New York City has left Jackson resident Carol Faris in the middle of Hurricane Sandy and without certainty of when she'll be able to leave."
BEST BRAGS:

"… Paula Faris, who works third-shift-type hours as an overnight and early morning anchor, has been back and forth to the ABC studios like normal. ‘ABC has been sending a car to pick her up,' Carol said. ‘Normally she hails a taxi, but taxis have been limited.'"

"‘Paula normally sleeps during the day, and their nanny hasn't been able to get here,' Carol said. ‘I feel like I've been a help with [the] kids being home.'"

A FAMOUS DAUGHTER CHIMES IN:


A "Funny" Boy from Kansas Follows His Dreams

HEADLINE: UPDATED: Joplin Native Preparing to Wait Out Hurricane Sandy
WHERE: Missouri, Kansas
WHO: "Diann Mazurek is a Pittsburg[, Kansas] mother who is keeping her eye on weather reports and her cell phone. Her son, Ben, lives in Manhattan, NY."
BEST LINE:

"Her son moved there in 2010 to attend the New York Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, graduated in May and is pursuing an acting career. His mother said he has no plans to relocate at this time."

HoneyDoomed

HEADLINE: Stuck in SoHo with Superstorm Sandy: Kori (Murphree) Nix shares her account on eve of approaching storm
WHERE: Oklahoma
WHO: "…One Oklahoma newlywed couple flew into New York City Saturday so they could hopefully make their honeymoon cruise.

Kori and Jaron Nix are sitting in a 12-story Holiday Inn in SoHo, Manhattan, and on Sunday, they saw just how serious New Yorkers are about the storm, now nicknamed Frankenstorm."
HOME STATE SHOUT-OUT: "Kori, the daughter of Kreg and Donna Murphree of Duncan, said this isn't her first trip to NYC, but it is the first time she's ever experienced anything like this. She said it's a much different feeling than an Oklahoma storm."
BEST LINE:

"The entire city is shut down. We are actually waiting for room service."

Unique But Similar Experiences from Two Cornhusker Natives


HEADLINE: Tribland Natives Brave Sandy
WHERE: Nebraska
WHO: "Hastings High graduates Alice Welch and Jacque Schneider, living in the Washington, D.C., and New York City areas, respectively, both had unique but similar experiences over the last 24 hours."
HOME STATE SHOUT-OUT: "While Welch has seen major blizzards, severe thunderstorms and torrential rains in Nebraska, she had no idea what was coming when Sandy made landfall."
BEST LINE:

"At least a few Tribland natives living on the East Coast have been dealing with the effects of Hurricane Sandy while those back in the Cornhusker State have found out about the devastation and destruction via photos, stories and on television."

Who Is "Pismo"?


HEADLINE: In S.J., Families Wait and Worry
WHERE: California
WHO: "Amid the oncoming fury of Hurricane Sandy, Brooklyn-based freelance journalist Genetta Adams still was able to enjoy the success of her beloved San Francisco Giants and 49ers." // "Stockton native Thaddeus Smith III, perhaps better known outside his large family by his professional name Pismo, is a recording artist and producer who has lived in Brooklyn the past decade."
BEST LINE:

"'But when I woke up (Tuesday) morning, I had five messages from my mom, starting at 4:45 a.m.,' said Adams, a 1984 graduate of Tokay High School and a freelance journalist. ‘She was up all night watching the news and hearing about the worst of it and was sort of freaking out about it, while I was sleeping snuggly in my bed.'"

(Images via Getty, Wikipedia)