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POWER


Have you got it?  You know what I mean, are you power-less or –ful?  Are you existing on fake power, generator-supplied electricity, or are you just plain limp like a dead wire.

How many days did you wait?  Are you still waiting?  Where do we live?  In the United States, in New York, where taxes and electricity costs are through the roof?  Or do we live somewhere else, where we should have little or no expectation that our homes and lives will be electrified some 13 days after a hurricane?

What did people with babies do?  No heat, hot water or a warm stove to heat up a bottle?  What will happen to the people who live(d) in places like Long Beach, Freeport and the Jersey Shore? What about those who were already living on the edge, with little or no provisions?

Despite my cynical and wise remarks above, I’ve figured out several important things - that perhaps would have taken me the rest of my life to discover:

1. I don’t want to rely on a gas guzzling SUV anymore.  As soon as carpools are over (maybe a year or so), I am buying an automobile that won’t long for the gas station every five days.
2. My kids were nicer to each other during the aftermath of the storm, sans T.V. and the Internet, than they ever were before in their lives.
3. Having a generator is a blessing, although the noise of the constant growling engine settled in my body and has not left yet.
4. There are many simple pleasures that no one should take for granted: waking up to a warm kitchen, hot coffee, a washer and dryer and an Internet connection.
5. I didn’t miss T.V. but I sure wish I could have seen the coverage of Sandy and how it affected others.
6. Three things we need for the next storm: a battery-operated radio, some reliable electronic device with 3 or 4G capability, and lots of candles and batteries.

Maybe even that battery-operated lantern I keep hearing about.

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