Reflections On A Terrible Storm

The last time we posted a blog was 9 days ago.. Friday October 26th to be exact..

It wasn't an important post.. Merely letting loyal readers know we may be away for a few days based on expectations of what Hurricane Sandy may bring: a lot of rain... some gusty winds... an inconvenient but momentary power outage..  Nothing worth getting too fearful or concerned about...

And here we are all these days later..  And look at what has changed..

The devastation in Pennsylvania...  And New Jersey, particularly the famous 'shore'..  And of course New York City... specifically areas like Queens and Staten Island..

And it just doesn't seem to end-- the loss of life.. so many lives lost...  and the loss of property and memories; the daily suffering and fight for basic survival-- the continual power outages..  the water and gas shortages.. the shortening of tempers and hope

We were overall quite fortunate in the grand scheme-- we had no power for about four days here and dealing with the evening coldness was a constant problem..  But comparatively we had it easy here at our 'A&G' home base and are both conscious of and appreciative to that fact.

But it does not mean that life lessons are not learned even when the experiences don't equally match what would be rightfully termed the Horrific.

We take much for granted in this country.  Its not a criticism or something aimed outwardly-- we here are equally as guilty.   Its just part of the human condition in a modern, technologically advanced society...

We assume we will always have electrical power.. just flip on a light switch and there it is.. Or to get clean, drinkable water all we need do is turn a knob and out it will pour.. And we assume that anytime we walk into a store, pretty much everything we need will be available for us to purchase without any difficulty or wait..  And that we can fill our vehicles with gasoline any time we wish.

And we never sincerely imagine what it would be like if all these assumptions did not come to pass...  It feels too much like a sci-fi movie or the thought, when delved deep and sincere enough, is just too depressing for the mind to linger upon..

And yet for those in many parts of NJ and NYC, it is reality.

And the more we think about our own personal ordeals such as the endless mad dashes to try to find so much as a D battery or a canister of propane, and those who've suffered 1000x worse,  its hard to muster up the energy and passion to write on the same topics as before.

Somehow, the deviance of the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Stability Mechanism doesn't hold the same interest.  And the Presidential election means very little

And while the hatred for professional capital-I Investors and Wall St will never temper in our hearts, ultimately the Dow average generate a response of 'So What?' when we think about people... sooo many people who've lost everything and suddenly are homeless while a once-again ineffective and incompetent FEMA makes their plight even more insufferable.

So in a way, 'A&G' is going to be going through some changes; a maturation and growth perhaps as all intelligent creatures and entities do...  We're going to write less on abstract things that people know are bad or wrong but don't have direct day to day consequence, and focus on real-life issues, problems and concerns...

We're also going to not dwell so much on the negative going forward.  We all know life is tough.. its a struggle unless you're truly well-to-do.  And when all is well with the world (generally speaking) its easy to sit in the figurative comfy-chair and conduct academic exercises and rants as to how things should or ought to be.

But when you experience even a small taste of what basic daily survival is like, you come out on the other side with different perspectives and hopefully, growth...

And thus A&G will be continually growing and evolving..  It will be an exploration; a journey of discovery as to how one can take control of their lives, be more prepared for the unexpected and cope in a positive way even when the forces of the world (or acts of God) conspire to make one feel hopeless..

And we look forward to your continued loyal readership as we begin a new chapter for "Ants and Grasshoppers"