Sandy Supposes....

Groan...winter is approaching...

The Sunday News! I'm not even gonna bother with a link today (feel free to share your own, if you'd like)...the topic is Hurricanes, as the US has been battered by two in recent weeks (with a few more brewing underneath). How prepared are you for any kind of natural disaster?

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         

         Weather-related disasters? Where I reside, it is highly unlikely that a hurricane will strike. My home area cannot be described as tropical, and it is inland, a fair distance from any ocean. Twisters, or tornados, are rare, but not inconceivable. One of those demented wind storms blew through recently, about two-hundred miles from here. Reports claimed it was a mini-twister, but it caused havoc nonetheless.

         The natural disasters I am familiar with involve freezing temperatures, blizzards, and ice. Every winter season, there is the possibility of an adverse storm. Locals are familiar with the everyday hardships of winter.

         We all prepare for it with sturdy snow tires on our vehicles and engine-block heaters. Most of us have learned to keep our cars' gas tanks topped up with fuel. Some, choose to heat with firewood, so they stockpile it. Candles, matches, flashlights, and batteries are kept nearby. Of course, we possess warm clothing, and we wear it. Shovels are next to doorways. Pantries are stocked with non-perishables. Bottled water is saved. We expect to be snowed in at least once during the long winter. Bear in mind, this would have to be quite the mega-storm to inconvenience us and force us to stay put, hunkered in our homes.

         We adapt. We accept, begrudgingly. For the most part, we carry on with our usual business, but we cannot be prepared for everything.

          Years ago, in a particularly brutal January, an ice storm knocked out our power grid. Temperatures plunged to the -40's Celsius, and froze there. For over a week, we had no electrical/hydro power. My home was heated by an oil furnace. There was just one wee, important problem.... the fan/blower for that furnace only operated via electricity. Yep, no heat. We made do. We bundled ourselves in sleeping bags that became our cocoons. Within that "skin" we wore wool, fleece, and anything remotely warm. I still remember my youngest reaching a hand out to snatch a snack, and then retreat into her sack. The gloves only came off for eating. I don't believe I saw her face that entire time.

          Periodically, we'd sit in our vehicle, and let the motor idle, just to experience a flash of warmth. A few times, we visited friends/family with wood stoves.

         We couldn't cook. Sigh, our stove was electric, too. We did not own a barbecue then, but I'm glad. Attempting to cook in sub-zero temps. would not have been pleasant. Peanut butter sandwiches, crackers, cookies, chips, fruit, whatever sustained us. Runs were made to a local restaurant that operated with a generator. We'd fill thermoses with hot coffee and tea.

         Our water heater was also electric. Strangely, the hot water lasted for a few days. That tank was well insulated, and we doled out the water sparingly to wash our hands. Drinking and toilet water came from the wells nearby that were not serviced by electric pumps.

         We amused ourselves with reading, board games, conversation, charades, and the like. In the evenings, we lit candles.

         I suppose this was somewhat like living in an igloo. We were reduced to roughing it in our own home. Now, winters don't seem as menacing, or daunting.