May 2, 2011

  • The Problem With A Disaster.....


    TALES FROM THE BRAT FARM

    I'm sure you are sick of hearing about the disaster here.  It gets old when you don't know anyone that's been affected by it or you are not directly in the areas.  The problem is we are living it with all the bad things that go with it like the lack of electricity to most of us.

    The Princess got her house electricity back last night.  We still don't have ours and, trust me on this, although we have the generator and the solar, it is not without it's own problems.  We have to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning so we must be careful when using the generator.  We can't use it all day long due to the high amount of gas that's used.  The solar is finite and, since we used it so much yesterday trying to keep Chewlee entertained, we won't get it recharged because today is cloudy and rainy.  That also slows down the restoration of power process.  We heard that they won't even get to our type of area (rural roads) until Wednesday.  That's just to start clearing, re-polling and re-stringing the power lines.  I'd feel better if they had even dropped off the new poles that will be needed on just our section of road but that hasn't happened.

    Even the local news stations aren't doing the reporting that they did the first three or four days.  Why?  Because the people not affected want their regular programming back.  It's a very cold attitude from our standpoint.  I'm a product of technology, too.  I like being able to flick a light switch and it goes on.  I like turning on my TV whenever I feel like it.  I like being able to use my stove and my oven.  To take a warm shower or bath without it being a major production.  Thank god the Beast has the knowledge he does or we would be SOL right now and life would be miserable for us, too.  It's why we help out our neighbors since we are more fortunate and the Beast worried about things like this happening to us.  Before this, we hadn't gone without electricity for more than 16 hours here in Alabama in the five years we've lived here.  But he prepared for it.  I laughed at some of his efforts but I'm not laughing now.  I also know that we will be using this later during the summer and more than once.  Sad but true.

    So, if I drone on a bit about what it's like, bear with me.  Yes, we do have power here, supplied by solar and/or our generator but for limited times during the day.  It's usually for just a half hour three or four times a day.  That's not all that much and I am grateful we have that.  In the meantime, I am taking notes about the things we do and discuss or I just think about while this is going on. 

    Tara and her kids won't have their electric back until this weekend.  They have lost all the food in their fridge and freezer that they didn't haul along when they went down to Tallahassee to stay with her dad and brother at their places.  Thousand of families are waiting for FEMA trailers because they lost everything.  EVERYTHING.  Think about that for a while.  Look around you.  What if it all disappeared in just a split second of time?  We are finding bits and pieces of peoples lives here and their on our property and in some of the trees here.  Siding from someone's house or trailer.  Papers that someone had saved.  Shredded clothing.  Some pieces of appliances.  All showered down all over where the tornadoes hit.  Sucked up and deposited in strange places.  Sad.  Sad.  Sad.

    On a more positive note:  OSAMA BIN LADEN IS DEAD!!!!  That was a long time coming and I, for one, am grateful that this much hated leader is gone. 

    Love you all.  Hope to be back on schedule and with our normal electricity within four days or so.  Be good and I hope you never have to go through this yourselves.