POWERDOWN

My sixth day without electrical power and another guster on the way-- The storm that ravaged Seattle and the greater Puget Sound with gusts of 75mph produced a record windgust along the Rocky Mountain Front in Montana of 164mph-- Great Falls settled for 85 mph blast-- But in the Puget Sound area no rhyme or reason puzzles folks whose power hasn't come back on while some nextdoor neighborhoods are up and running-- When I lived in Montana my power went down due to my landlady losing her job not making her mortgage payments or paying her electrical bill-- My apartment was upstairs from her main house so my power rode hers down as well-- It wound up being shut-off in early February and stayed down 21 days-- Cooking a chuckroast in the middle of my driveway in the middle of a blizzard on a little barbecue during the first three days of outage was somewhat fun and challenging like winter camping but after the fourth day any notion of civilization and its accrued softness simply disappeared-- Gallows humor saved the situation on many days replete with long hikes and serious soul searching but one thing that didn't improve the condition whatsoever was whining which I hear all too often today in the Puget Sound area-- Those who ran to motels that hadn't lost power now talk like they braved an Arctic adventure and their suffering is far above and beyond those who still don't have power-- Wake Up!!-- This could be a precursor to the future--

Nationwide electrical grids have been allowed to deteriorate to such a degree that several short years ago a tree felled a line in Ohio and the whole East Coast grid went down-- Sinking $2 billion per week into Iraq to degrade their already powered-down infrastructure while ours continues its decrepitude is truly perverse beyond surreal-- At least those suffering without power in the Puget Sound can walk down their city's street without having to dodge raw sewage-- People in what used to be called Iraq have been doing that for several years now-- The grubby mega-commerce that has bastardized Christmas doesn't seem quite so artificial this week as it did last-- Who cares what the hot doll or the top electronic whizzo is this year your friend might need a flashlight or an oil lamp or maybe a manual on how to build a fire or a new age seminar on how to sit in a cold and dark house for two or three hours at night without going crazy-- Prepare for the next shutdown now because next time it might be an earthquake not just a big wind and the roads may not be passible and the grocery stores may be cut off-- Or it may not be Mother Nature in an angry fury, there's enough economic gloom in and of itself to trigger a financial tempest-- Be of good cheer even if the headlines aren't.....

Florida second only to CA in foreclosures - SunSentinel (12/20/2006 9:05 AM)

Americans Visiting Europe Feel the Pain - AP (12/20/2006 9:55 AM)

The Mortgage Bust Goes On - Forbes (12/19/2006 9:09 PM)

Sharp Rise in Prices Shows Inflation Is Still a Threat - NY Times (12/20/2006