Originally Posted by
Malcolm Schweizer
Good day, Pat. Don't read this the wrong way, but you live in the land of plenty. We are used to not always having amenities. I have an on-demand propane hot water heater that I can hook up to the generator (it needs 120 to run the sensors) and have hot water. I've only done that maybe three times since the storms, and that was because I was covered in paint or 3M 5200, or some other substance that I thought hot water might help get off. We are used to taking quick showers, and it's been so doggoned hot we really don't care if they are cold. We don't watch TV, so that's no issue. I am one of the fortunate ones that has city water- we only have that in the downtown area. The rest of the island is on cistern water and needs 120 to run their pump. I am fortunate- I have both a cistern and city water. For the few days I was without city water, I could dip a bucket to get water out of the cistern. At the time I didn't have a generator. Power goes out all the time on the island, but I never felt the need to get a generator. We just light candles and enjoy the peace and quiet, and go look at the stars. After the storms I got one because I figured it would be this long or longer. They are nowhere near my neighborhood, so I am probably going to be one of those that doesn't get power by Christmas. We have A/C, but only use it when company comes to visit that aren't used to the heat. With the genny running the fridge enough to keep it cool, and Milwaukee cordless lights/fans/tools keeping us going at night, we are fine.
Since most folks have cisterns, we are used to not flushing the toilet unless you have to (if it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down) and taking quick showers where you wet yourself, turn off the water, soap up, then rinse. Again, I am fortunate as we have city water, but for 12 years I lived off cistern water only. During that time I was in a huge place with plenty of roof and never had to worry about running out of water. (More roof- more rain caught)
What is a pain is there is no phone system right now, so businesses that had land lines you can't reach. I needed to rent a steam cleaner. Had to drive across the island to personally ask if they had a steam cleaner. Since most businesses were only letting a few folks in at a time for security (no power- no security systems- no phone- no calling police), I had to wait outside forever just to find out they didn't have one. Also, since Home Depot was shut down for a month+ (still not fully open- selling only nescessities while they repair), and two other small hardware stores were damaged beyond repair, we had ONE mom and pop hardware store. Price gouging was rampant- $80 for a 5-gallon fuel jug. The governor threatened to pull the business license of any business caught price gouging. That helped. One thing for sure- when Home Depot reopens I will never shop at the one mom and pop store again after their price gouging. D batteries $3 each. Pffft.
All this said, I wouldn't trade it for the world. I am stronger and wiser, and my view of material things has changed. Heck, I DIDN'T EVEN BUY ANYTHING FROM LEE VALLEY FOR CYBER MONDAY!!!! That's a first. :-) Every person should be locked in a box with all their stuff and have it tossed by 180+mph winds, and when they emerge, they will take a new view of stuff.
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