Our normal winter has a few dustings of snow each year and maybe one event with 2"-3" and then by afternoon it's 50 degrees again and it's all melted. Instead, we've had bitter cold temps in the teens and twenties, preventing the ice and snow from melting.....and once you add in the ever present wind here on the plateau that takes the temps down to around zero.
We have friends who are still without power and most have lost all the food in their refrigerator and freezers, including restaurants and local eateries. Many are running generators to give their families some semblance of normalcy and local food banks and churches are cranking out 1000 meals a day to feed those less fortunate. When we were in town 2 days ago some stores were still only able to take cash or checks, no credit cards because the internet is so sketchy.
Folks here on the plateau are a hardy bunch and have proven to be most generous. Volunteer organizations have been busily providing assistance since day one and check on the elderly, drive those who can't to the store to restock food, and neighbor men wielding chain saws are still working to clear roads so the electric company can get in to restore power lines that are still down. There is a small contingent of National Guard who are also working to clear the roads of downed trees and debris in the northern part of the county.
That brings me to one question? Where's the cavalry? Remember the embattled Emergency Manager in Florida who felt she wasn't getting enough assistance from the federal government after a terrific hurricane hit south Florida years ago? And she asked that on live TV.....where's the cavalry?......Well, I'm shocked that even with a declaration of a level III and now a level II emergency, we have not seen one single power crew from another area. I realize we are not a major population center, but really? I'm not complaining, I'm just a little stunned.
Our local newspaper reported today that 400 men from Volunteer Electric are working in 5-8 man crews for 16 hours a day. If you saw the devastation we've seen you'd know they have a tall task ahead of them still. It's one thing to be without electricity in Florida where it gets really hot and sticky when the A/C goes out. But it's another thing entirely when the power goes off and you can see your breath inside your home because it's so cold. That's when it gets a little scary. That's when people die.
I'm proud as ever to call this area our home and have a renewed respect for the people of the Cumberland Plateau. Their pioneer spirit and Christian ethic is so deeply imbedded in them that assisting anyone and everyone who needs it comes as a natural calling to them. Governor Haslam toured our little county this week and said we had wide-spread devastation that could only be appreciated by viewing it up close first hand.
As for me, I've started dreaming about the veggies and flowers that will soon overflow from our gardens. Hope it's getting warmer where you live.
Debbie
