Powerless and Out in the Cold.
Posted By Cliff Tuttle | February 9, 2010
Posted by Cliff Tuttle © 2010
We take so much for granted.
When the snow started coming down so heavy, so wet, we saw it coming. Tree limbs burdened with snow bring down power lines. The temperature plunges into single digits. The snow piles up so high that you can’t walk three feet past the door.
Without electricity, you can’t work. But more importantly, you can’t flee because you can’t move enough snow personally to clear your driveway to back your car to the unplowed street.
We’ve had longer power outages before, even in the beastly cold. But we’ve never had the combination of no power, deep cold and deep snow.
We were able to enlist help and get away. But what we found on the roads was just as grim. The City of Pittsburgh was crippled. Main roads untouched 24 hours after the snow began. Driving on four lane highways that felt like snowy open fields. Without four wheel drive, you’re going nowhere. Ice from compacted snow made for a crazy wild ride, like in an amusement park, violently lurching side to side. Roadblocks were everywhere, mostly consisting of stuck or abandoned vehicles.
How lucky we are to live in a technological world where most everything works like charm most of the time. Lets make the most of it.
CLT