The Seesaw Effect

With the massive storm that passed us last weekend and another tailing it right now as I speak (um.. write), many people are out of power, snowed in and immobilized. The snow from last week being wet and heavy had brought down many power lines cutting power from many households. Many trees have fallen down or on houses nearby or on power lines due to the weight of the snow. The new snow that is coming down today is adding to the effect. I saw in the news that thousands of people are out of power and power companies like Pepco, Dominion and NOVEC are working round the clock to restore power.

But what is frustrating people the most is the ‘not knowing’ when their power will be restored. When will people realize that the problem can be dealt with but ‘not knowing’ is the killer. They need to know when their power will be restored. They need answers, they need assurance. I saw on T.V. that the electric company trucks would go by on the streets and people would stop them and ask when their turn to be worked on is. There are families who had lost power on Saturday, this past weekend, and are still without power and heating. Some people have opened their hearts and doors of their home, literally, to friends and are allowing them to stay until their power is back.

Many are just snowed in, unable to take their cars out as the snow plows, in some cases, have piled snow on their driveways and around cars that are parked. In some cases, people have not seen plows come on to their streets for plowing. The streets are covered with snow or barely passable for driving. In some cases, neighbors are forming teams and helping each other to clear the snow and the streets so they can get out of the complex. Some are taking up this opportunity to show their good samaritan-ship by lending a helping hand to clear the snow. When I went for a walk this past Saturday, I had helped a few dig out their driveways but when I had written my blog, I didn’t mention it because I thought that that was the right thing to do to start with.

Last Friday, when the snow was starting to fall, I went to the nearby Shoppers, after work, to see how people were reacting to the snow. Many had shopped earlier on during the week or day and the store was empty of milk and bread. Of course, the salt was all gone which is understandable but to see a store like Shoppers Foodware mostly empty of groceries was quiet a view. How much were those people going to consume during the snow storm? To panic that they would be stranded for days together and hoarding on to the groceries is a bit too much. After all, with what is left in a house, can one not survive for a couple of days? Imagine what would happen – one does all that shopping to survive during the storm and the power and heating goes off, the fridge is not working anymore and all that you shopped for is a waste, only to be packed up to be thrown into the trash. Forget imagining, this is really happening to many families who have lost power now because of the storm. Does one have to shop before a storm to survive? Did we not learn anything from Bear Grylls that we cannot even endure a snow storm being in ones own home and comfort?