Hurricane Ike made his presence known in the Cincinnati area. Before Sunday, I had never seen such a powerful windstorm.
Our backyard resembled a scene from “The Wizard of Oz.” I looked out the window and saw flying garbage cans, lids, lawn furniture and large pieces of wood. I saw everything except a woman on a bicycle and farm animals.
Other than some cracked siding and the loss of our food, we were alive and our house is still intact.
I consider myself fortunate that my family didn’t suffer any major losses from the storm.
Most of us cook, wash clothes and take hot showers whenever convenient. We just do these daily chores without a second thought. Without electricity, we soon realize that electricity is a luxury we take for granted.
Most of the power in our region was knocked out by trees falling onto power lines. Unfortunately, the falling trees were also responsible for at least three deaths.
Last night, I drove around the area to survey the damage. It looked like a scene from an old Sci-Fi B movie.
The streets were deserted and most of the local traffic lights were out. There were trees, branches and garbage on the streets.
Except for a few gas stations and grocery stores, everything else was closed.
After driving past several closed gas stations, I finally found one. With the exception of the highest grade of Octane, the lower grades were empty. Being desperate for gas, I gave the gas station my right arm and filled my tank.
I saw a local news story that some unscrupulous gas stations are taking advantage of human suffering by raising their rates...capitalism at work.
After clearing out our refrigerator, we made a trip to a local grocery store.
The scene was frantic…a free-for-all as people were in search of bread, eggs and milk. We finished our trip and made an easy dinner. We also got home in time to watch Monday Night Football. We were never so grateful to the hard working Duke Energy employees working around the clock.
I told a co-worker that we are so spoiled. We go one day without a shower or hot food and our world comes to an end. I can’t imagine how the Texans in Galveston must feel. They will most likely go weeks or months without power.
I saw the local politicians making their speeches and asking everyone to remain patient as if anyone had a choice. I guess that's protocol for them.
Mother Nature periodically reminds us that with all of our science and technology, she’s still the strongest force on the planet.
It will serve us well to remember this the next time we sit in the dark.
Our backyard resembled a scene from “The Wizard of Oz.” I looked out the window and saw flying garbage cans, lids, lawn furniture and large pieces of wood. I saw everything except a woman on a bicycle and farm animals.
Other than some cracked siding and the loss of our food, we were alive and our house is still intact.
I consider myself fortunate that my family didn’t suffer any major losses from the storm.
Most of us cook, wash clothes and take hot showers whenever convenient. We just do these daily chores without a second thought. Without electricity, we soon realize that electricity is a luxury we take for granted.
Most of the power in our region was knocked out by trees falling onto power lines. Unfortunately, the falling trees were also responsible for at least three deaths.
Last night, I drove around the area to survey the damage. It looked like a scene from an old Sci-Fi B movie.
The streets were deserted and most of the local traffic lights were out. There were trees, branches and garbage on the streets.
Except for a few gas stations and grocery stores, everything else was closed.
After driving past several closed gas stations, I finally found one. With the exception of the highest grade of Octane, the lower grades were empty. Being desperate for gas, I gave the gas station my right arm and filled my tank.
I saw a local news story that some unscrupulous gas stations are taking advantage of human suffering by raising their rates...capitalism at work.
After clearing out our refrigerator, we made a trip to a local grocery store.
The scene was frantic…a free-for-all as people were in search of bread, eggs and milk. We finished our trip and made an easy dinner. We also got home in time to watch Monday Night Football. We were never so grateful to the hard working Duke Energy employees working around the clock.
I told a co-worker that we are so spoiled. We go one day without a shower or hot food and our world comes to an end. I can’t imagine how the Texans in Galveston must feel. They will most likely go weeks or months without power.
I saw the local politicians making their speeches and asking everyone to remain patient as if anyone had a choice. I guess that's protocol for them.
Mother Nature periodically reminds us that with all of our science and technology, she’s still the strongest force on the planet.
It will serve us well to remember this the next time we sit in the dark.
No comments:
Post a Comment