Welcome back! Our power finally came back on at 11:44 EDT yesterday morning. Crews showed up right at 8:00 and started working. They identified the local problem but then had to find the cause of the local problem and fix that first. The problem on the pole across from our house wasn’t that bad: a blown fuse. It took longer to level and raise the bucket truck than it did to replace the fuse. The crews working our neighborhood were from Ft. Wayne and South Bend. This morning, they’re heading for Kentucky and will be helping restore power down there. We greatly appreciate their sacrifice in getting power turned back on.
Having our power back was nice, but then came the problem of checking the refrigerator and freezer to see what we had lost. We had been careful to not open the doors, but when the power is out for over 72 hours, there’s not much hope. I opened the door with the trash can by my side. The smell caused my stomach to turn. About the only thing that survived was the various jellies. It took three large garbage bags to cart everything out.
Fortunately, we have fantastic family and friends who have helped us be able to restore some of what we lost. As has consistently been the case over the past two years, you again came to our rescue. Food has been ordered and we’ll be okay. There are still some cleanup issues, but we’ll be able to handle those. Through all of this, we have to remember that what we got here in Indy was but a smattering compared to the decimation in other places throughout the Southeast. The search for survivors still continues, especially in North Carolina, where numerous roads and bridges are just gone. As of this morning, 140 are known dead, but that number will have increased by the time you read this. Helene is one of the deadliest storms to hit the US and it will take weeks to even start putting things back together. For too many, the devastation is incalculable. All the help in the world won’t bring back lost loved ones.
Sadly, the Orange Felon has been spreading lies about disaster recovery. Is anyone surprised? No. However, his rhetoric could cause some to experience delays in getting the help they need. President Biden will look over the devastation today and has promised all the help legally possible. The topic will almost certainly come up at tonight’s vice presidential debate. Please remember, when the felon was president, he minimized disaster relief. Haiti is still dealing with severe hunger and crime because they didn’t get the disaster relief they needed. We don’t need that kind of response again.
What is scary is that the hurricane season isn’t over. The National Weather Service is tracking multiple storms forming in the Caribbean. What had been an unusually quiet season seems to be heating up on the back side and could still cause continued problems for the Southeast US even as they’re trying to put their lives back together after Helene. There’s just a lot going on and the next few weeks could have everyone reaching for their anxiety medication.
Oh, and just as millions of people are needing their food replaced, dockworkers have gone on strike across the East and Gulf Coasts. This is going to affect everything from food to fashion, especially fresh foods that have to be imported this time of year. I saw someone on Facebook foolishly question why we don’t “just grow the vegetables that we need here in the US?” We do. The problem is that all that food has been harvested and much of it has been consumed. This time of year, through April, almost all fresh fruit and vegetables have to be imported and come through those docks along the coasts. Even if the strike doesn’t last long, the ripple effect will cause higher prices on almost everything and make some items unavailable through the holiday season.
I’m not going to even try to catch up on all the news that we missed. I know the big headline story this morning is Israel’s incursion into Lebanon, seriously expanding the war.
Today is former President Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday, which is nothing short of incredible.
Pete Rose, Dikembe Mutombo, and Kris Kristofferson have all died.
A Judge blocks Georgia law banning abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
The New York Times editorial board has endorsed Kamala Harris for President.
Life sucks for a lot of people right now. Be nice. You never know what someone’s going through.
Thankfully, there’s coffee this morning!
Morning Update: 10/14/24
What a difference a day makes; twenty-four little hours. Fall break is over, but that doesn’t mean both kids are heading back to school. G will be in Florida until next Sunday. They arrived yesterday without incident. He told Kat that he didn’t see “that much” damage. That means the biggest danger he’s likely to face down there is ‘gators. I was so concerned about the storms that I didn’t think to warn him about the giant reptiles and their ability to hide in seemingly harmless bodies of water. So, now I’ll worry about getting him back in one piece.
Yesterday involved a couple of interesting conversations with Tipper as well. Since G won’t be here to take the bus with her in the morning, we gave her a can of pepper spray to carry. That required plenty of instruction and warnings against spraying it into the wind. She has to turn it in at the school when she gets there and pick it back up before heading home. We’re hoping she never has reason to use it, but statistics say she will. There was also a conversation about mammograms that Kat fielded beautifully. A friend of Kat’s discovered last week that she has breast cancer. As we were discussing that, Tipper asked about “that thing that squishes them.” Kat was straightforward but gentle in her wording. We’ve had too many friends diagnosed with various forms of the disease this year to ignore the questions.
Then, it had to turn around and get cold. The wind was strong yesterday as the cold front moved in. By this morning, the thermometer was reading 48 degrees. No, it’s not really cold, but we’ve been accustomed to 80-degree days for so long that the contrast feels dramatic. Today’s high won’t get above 60 and by Wednesday, there’s a decent chance of frost. I’m avoiding getting the heavy coat out just yet, though. I layered a hoodie with my lightweight jacket when I took the dogs out this morning. While I’m ready for fall, I’m not ready for the added pain that comes with the cold.
I’m a little pissed that the NFL wouldn’t let me watch the Washington/Baltimore game on Prime yesterday. For some stupid reason, it was blocked here. I never have understood the NFL’s blackout policies. They don’t make a damn bit of sense. Baltimore ended up winning, 30-23. But hey, the Colts won over the Titans, 20-17! That’s more of a comment on how poorly the Titans are playing than anything special the Colts did to win. The game could have gone either way. There were a couple of absolute routs. The Lions completely crushed the Cowboys, 47-9. The folks in Dallas need to be ashamed of that performance and should probably give ticketholders their money back. Steelers whomped the Raiders in Vegas, making those overpriced tickets seem ridiculous. And what the Bucs did to the Saints was anything but holy, taking them out with a score of 51-27. The Bills take on the Jets tonight and if Buffalo doesn’t win by at least two touchdowns I’ll be shocked.
Sadly, not everything is fun and games. Reuters is reporting that the US is sending to anti-missile system and troops to Israel. You read that correctly. We’re putting boots on the ground in an escalating war that has no equitable outcome. This comes as Israeli Energy Minister Eli Cohen accused UNIFIL peacekeepers in south Lebanon of being a “useless” force. Why? Because they won’t brutally slaughter every person they encounter? This has seriously become the most disgusting war of our lifetime.
China’s acting like a jackass as well. China sent 125 military aircraft in exercises aimed at Taiwan in a single-day record, Taiwan says. Taiwan is holding firm to the belief that China had “no right to represent” the island. Should China get too aggressive, both Japan and the US are likely to become involved. China should stop and consider that outcome for a moment. Japan hasn’t been involved in any conflict since WWII. We wouldn’t let them. Now, China’s aggression against Taiwan is also a threat to Japan. Don’t expect Japan to play nice. They’ve been waiting.
Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James Robinson win the Nobel Prize for Economics. They studied what caused some countries to succeed while others failed. The question is whether anyone outside of the Nobel Committee will pay any attention to their findings.
Indigenous Peoples Day hits a bit differently this year as many tribes are pushing people to get out and vote. In 2020, tribal voting is what pivoted Arizona for Biden. This year, the effort to get indigenous people to vote is even stronger and there are several states in which a strong turnout could cause a decisive difference.
Meanwhile, research is now saying that Columbus was a Sephardic Jew from Western Europe. I’m not sure that has any bearing on the fact that he was a murderous SOB. I’m willing to forget he ever existed.
There’s some other stuff. Meteorologists are facing harassment and death threats amid disinformation about the recent hurricanes. Why? Because people are fucking stupid and believing GOP lies. Fisher-Price Recalls 2 Million ‘Snuga Swings’ After Five Infant Deaths. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission isn’t all that convinced that the recall will do any good. And you should Stop Carving a Hole at the Top of Your Jack-o’-lantern. Unless you have squirrels, in which case it really doesn’t matter because they’re going to eat the damn thing anyway.
If that wasn’t enough, it’s Monday. Not a damn thing we can do about that.
Perhaps, more coffee.
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