Thank you, Simon! Ha haha -- I'll pass that on to the old Grumpus (who, you will be astounded to know, can be the utmost ray of shine, too -- the ultimate, loveable contrarian!).
What I love watching, and hearing about from my friends and family in the deeply affected areas, is what's happening at street level. Help can't get there, or can't come fast enough, from government agencies, utilities etc, so households, street by street, are banding together, co-operating, bartering, basically helping each other get through hour by hour, one day at a time. It's inspiring, how tiny communities begin organising themselves to make conditions better, more bearable, for each member.
One of the big lessons being learnt about immediate survival is the neccessity of keeping cash on hand. Very few people carry it anymore. And when the power is gone, ATMs don't work, nothing works, so you need cash to buy food and water. Mark, catastrophiser that he is, had cash as well as the generator he bought. They use the gennie for two hours in the evening, which means he can cook a meal (from the tins he's been stock-piling!!!) and watch the evening news to find out what's going on. Most people are living without power, without phone or internet. Mark is without internet, which is probably driving him more crazy than anything!!! He's found a couple of spots locally where he can pick up a phone signal, so he rings us with updates most days.
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