Tuesday, August 19, 2003
Another Spoiled American That Lived Through the Blackout of 2003
Maybe I should be listening to the Fox News or CNN experts and opinion hawkers blaming Repubs/Dems, Canuks/Yanks, or best of all Buckeyes/Motown, but personally-I prefer Static Shock. Actually, I prefer Static's sister, Sharon. She has a great attitude. Since she isn't in this episode, I will lay a few lines down for Ludicrosity.
I am not cool enough to live south of Eight Mile Road. I am still on the 586 area code side but it is walking distance to Detroit and scary enough when the lights go out. Summer in the city used to equal riots-But this time it didn't. Great job neighbors!
Detroit area lights came back on after about 26 hours. We still can't use our air conditioners, waste any water, or do anything that might trigger another outage. The restaurants had to close for the 3 days of water boiling. Etc. etc. etc.
Coming from the 60's, conserving should be a habit. However, it's not. I got lazy like so many others. At least I remembered some conservation methods like "Do your bit for ecology; don't flush the toilet every time you pee." Or how to get really clean with just two inches of water. (Plug up the tub, turn the shower on just long enough to really wet down then turn the water off. Next, shampoo and lather up. Turn the water back on and rinse. You will be cleaner. You will have used only 2 inches of water. And the planet will thank you. If I didn't have kids, I would tell you it is even better to share the shower and save more water.)
We all seem to agree on one thing--we have become spoiled. We have so much and we use so much; we expect so much and still want more.
And that's great! I believe we are a great society because we always want more and more. We consume. The products we consume were made by us. We have created our own unique society of workers who consume. We are a self-fulfilling profit and spend society. Other societies like to have a group of workers and a separate elite group of consumers. We still use the middle class system of letting workers benefit at least a little from their own labors. And it works so well. We make more products so we can make more money so we can buy more products.
If the Big Blackout was a warning or a lesson, perhaps it was just a lesson in gratitude and a warning to honor our guardianship. Perhaps we should try a little harder: to use our resources sparingly, cherish our luxuries, prioritize our necessities, and remember People First.
Maybe I should be listening to the Fox News or CNN experts and opinion hawkers blaming Repubs/Dems, Canuks/Yanks, or best of all Buckeyes/Motown, but personally-I prefer Static Shock. Actually, I prefer Static's sister, Sharon. She has a great attitude. Since she isn't in this episode, I will lay a few lines down for Ludicrosity.
I am not cool enough to live south of Eight Mile Road. I am still on the 586 area code side but it is walking distance to Detroit and scary enough when the lights go out. Summer in the city used to equal riots-But this time it didn't. Great job neighbors!
Detroit area lights came back on after about 26 hours. We still can't use our air conditioners, waste any water, or do anything that might trigger another outage. The restaurants had to close for the 3 days of water boiling. Etc. etc. etc.
Coming from the 60's, conserving should be a habit. However, it's not. I got lazy like so many others. At least I remembered some conservation methods like "Do your bit for ecology; don't flush the toilet every time you pee." Or how to get really clean with just two inches of water. (Plug up the tub, turn the shower on just long enough to really wet down then turn the water off. Next, shampoo and lather up. Turn the water back on and rinse. You will be cleaner. You will have used only 2 inches of water. And the planet will thank you. If I didn't have kids, I would tell you it is even better to share the shower and save more water.)
We all seem to agree on one thing--we have become spoiled. We have so much and we use so much; we expect so much and still want more.
And that's great! I believe we are a great society because we always want more and more. We consume. The products we consume were made by us. We have created our own unique society of workers who consume. We are a self-fulfilling profit and spend society. Other societies like to have a group of workers and a separate elite group of consumers. We still use the middle class system of letting workers benefit at least a little from their own labors. And it works so well. We make more products so we can make more money so we can buy more products.
If the Big Blackout was a warning or a lesson, perhaps it was just a lesson in gratitude and a warning to honor our guardianship. Perhaps we should try a little harder: to use our resources sparingly, cherish our luxuries, prioritize our necessities, and remember People First.
