| | Was a bit of a mess; like snowstorms in the deep south, the northeast isn't all that used to dealing with hurricanes.
A lot of trees in the Northeast; a lot of above ground utilities. Add hurricane, and it's a widespread mess. One factor that helped was last years freak Oct snowstorm, which had the effect of pre-clearing out a lot of weak trees and branches last year. That helped this event around here, and still it was a mess.
Power is still widely out 4 days after storm, but coming back. Cable, phone, internet services following.
What struck me is something that Michael long observed; when all the traffic lights were out, people adapted in a heartbeat, without being told what to do. Pure self-preservation. Act like the intersection had a stop sign; proceed with caution. Take turns. Was not much of a problem at all. No mayhem, no chaos, no cops at intersections; there just aren't that many cops in the world, even if they wanted that duty. They had other priorities in an event like this, and had to focus their limited resources according;y. So, JPF -- Just Plain Folks -- doing what they instinctively knew had to be done.
Another observation; all I see is people helping each other and cleaning up. Local strip mall gyms with power opened up their facilities and offered free hot showers to folks long without power. People/businesses sharing internet access with neighboring businesses. Neighbors with power helping neighbors without power. Not a state or federal worker to be seen. At least around here, no looting, no craziness at all.
FEMA? Federal help? Nowhere to be seen; lot of stuffed shirts on national news taking all kinds of credit for standing in front of the cameras a thousand miles away and stating the obvious: "This was a dangerous storm." No shit, Sherlock. Now, back to your endless campaign of posing for your Participation Ribbon from History.
We learn -exactly- who we can depend on when these things come along; it isn't the federal government, it isn't the state government. It is at most local government but mainly neighbors, family, each other, and most of all, ourselves, acting in our own rational self-interest, which does include helping our neighbors and friends and families weather the crisis.
Who are these stuffed shirt charlatans claiming to 'run the economy,' and why aren't we all just laughing at them instead of giving them leeway to run off half-cocked with their radical agendas?
regards,
Fred
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