The Briar Philosopher - Frozen in Time

As of this writing, New Zion Ridge is covered in ice and snow. Nothing is moving on the roads except an occasional scraper truck. The Boy and I are working from home this morning. We brought our computers home on Friday to be prepared, and are glad we did. Our power was out on Sunday morning for about 3 hours. We were prepared for a much longer outage, but are quite relieved that it didn’t come to that. Of course, with ice and more snow still on the trees, there is still plenty of potential for it to go out again. But, for now, we are on the job with every intention of getting the paper out, in the mail, and on the stands with hopes the roads will be clear enough to get them to our readers this week. Our online site is up and running, as is our Facebook page, and we are doing our best to get any breaking news and updates on weather and road conditions to you that way, providing, of course, that you have electricity and access to the internet. 

It’s been right about three years since the last really bad ice storm that kept the county virtually shut down for days and days. Our power was out then for about three days; at that point, we didn’t have the lovely propane heater we have now. I thought I would strangle on the scent of kerosene, so as soon as spring arrived, we bought a really good propane heater from Jackson County Farm Supply. It sat in storage for quite some time until last winter, when our ancient central unit stopped working for good. It has been a lifesaver and one of the best purchases we have ever made. 

We are warm and safe and well fed. I know that there are others in the county and beyond who are not so lucky, and my heart goes out to them. I hope everyone will check on their neighbors and get them assistance if needed. Not everyone could afford to have backup heat, nor a stove that still works when the power is out. Not everyone could afford to stock up on food and water in case of an emergency. It is on the lucky ones to see to those not so fortunate. 

Jackson Energy is working tirelessly to get everyone’s power restored, but it’s treacherous out there, and our linemen and those who are assisting deserve our patience and gratitude for braving such conditions to get power restored. I know there will be those who will complain about Jackson Energy and our other First Responders. There always are, but I have no doubt they are all doing their best to get folks what they need during this crisis. They aren’t miracle workers, though having our power back on in three hours yesterday sure felt like a miracle. 

The county has opened warming shelters and yesterday designated the Jackson County Middle School as a primary shelter for those who have no power and no backup heat. 

It will be bitterly cold the rest of the week, but especially tonight when the actual temp will be down around zero with negative wind chill factors. 

You may not be reading this until after the crisis is over. You may not get a chance to read it for a spell after that, but know I’ve been thinking of you all. I hope you have all,  in some way, been touched by the power and warmth of love during the frozen time. I hope you all know that you matter, each and every one of you. I know we may not always agree, and that’s ok. It would be quite a boring world if everyone thought the same thing. But I do think we can all agree that love is the best thing we can offer in any situation.  I think we can all agree that hatred and meanness are never the answer to anything, and I think we can all agree that loving our neighbor, all of our neighbors, is our sacred duty. Wishing you all a thawed world and much love. Spring will be upon us soon, and I’ll be back to talking about planting onions and such. We’ll all be happier then.