Ice Storm: the Beauty and the Tragedy

It might be that you've never experienced an ice storm, at least one that has lasted for several days. Its Sunday and we are currently into our sixth day since all nature (in our area) was coated with the crystalline substance. The storm first began with a rain, which over a time froze on the ground, trees and buildings. Had the rain stopped or had the upper atmosphere become colder, turning the rain to snow, the results would have been less spectacular. Instead, it continued to rain off and on for at least a day and a half until everything was coated with an 1” of ice. I think this is the worst ice storm my husband and I have ever seen and that is because of the heaviness of this super thick layer of ice, but yet there is nothing more beautiful than ice covered fences and trees. The world glistens like glass, it's brilliant, stunning, but the damage it can do and the hardship it can cause is tragic.

We live right in the middle of the area hardest hit by the storm, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. Not too far from where we live, a fairly large community claims that 10,000 of its residents are without electricity. Four other smaller communities near us are totally without power.

Since ice storms are not a rare occurrence in the Midwest, many people are trying to ride it out. It's hard to imagine coming home from work to no heat or lights, no stove or microwave, no refrigerator, and no shower or bath unless you like them ice cold. By 5:00 or 5:30 in the mid of December the sun has gone down and night has settled in, so if the children happen to arrive home from school before mom and dad get home from work, it's cold, dark and spooky. A lot of people get through the outage by using kerosene or propane heaters to heat small spaces instead of an entire house. One family we know uses a propane space heater to heat their kitchen. They hang blankets over the doors to hold the warm air in. They have brought a portable TV from one of the bedrooms to the kitchen where the entire family sits around the table cozying up old time family style. In earlier times the kitchen was the central hub of the family, even more so than today. Often times the only room that was heated was the kitchen because they had to keep the cook stove going and so family, friends and neighbors alike gathered round the kitchen table for conversation and family fun.
Even today land line telephones require electricity for switching and various other things so without electricity often entire areas are without phone service unless you have a cell phone, but without electricity where are you supposed to recharge it? Generator sales have hit an all-time high since the Y2K scare and plugs, outlets and other fittings for wiring and hooking up are in short supply. Stores sell out as soon as their trucks unload and their shelves are stocked. I saw on television a few days ago that over a million people are without power from Oklahoma to Wisconsin. We've been told that in our area, all electricity should be restored by December 22nd. That's still over a week wait. Electric crews have come in from Arkansas, Colorado and other states to help with the overwhelming task of restoring power. The news announced last night that while several of these out of town crews slept in a motel after a hard days work, an organized group of "lowlifes" robbed them of their tools and copper line. Can you imagine! We also hear reports that municipal and utility companies uses generators to power some of their equipment, since the power outage effects them too. Thieves have walked off with their generators if they weren't chained down.

Still, there is a brighter side, we've heard of entire neighborhoods where power is shared. Some people have power, while others don't and so heavy electric cords run from house to house so everyone can benefit. People helping people, shoveling snow, cutting up and moving tree limbs that block entrances and driveways, caring, cooperation and looking out for your fellow man.
We are among the fortunate few because we live on a farm and many farmers, especially those with livestock have generators. Because the livestock has to be watered and fed and we benefit too. We have had heat, light and all the modern conveniences that electricity brings all provided by a tractor driven generator. Of course, that means double fuel, we pay the price of the propane the house as well as the diesel to run the tractor. The generator is large enough to run everything on our farm as well as everything in my husband's parent's house which sets adjacent to our farm. It's close enough a power cord can run from one of the farm buildings to their house. They are elderly and would not be able to stay in there home if there were no heat or electricity.

Living in the country has it's benefits but it has it's disadvantages. Being without electricity usually means you're also without water as water well pumps can't operate without power. It also means lots of extra work. Domestic animals can't take care of themselves in a storm, they need plenty of feed and water that isn't frozen and their young need a warm and dry place protected from the wind and elements. City people will usually have their power restored before rural people. One power line in the city might service several blocks of houses or businesses while one line in the country may only service a handful of families. What that means is, people who live in rural areas will most likely have to wait longer before their electricity is restored.

Whether you are getting by with the help of friends, neighbors or family, a generator, space heater or just waiting it out in the cold, storm times are good times to reflect on the mercy and goodness of God and to consider the many things there are to be thankful for. Today was such a day. We weren't able to go to church, something that seldom occurs at our house. On Sunday morning, going to church is a given, something everyone does, but this morning was different, we had problems with the water. We had turned off the generator during the night to conserve on fuel and the pressure tank or water line to one of the buildings froze. If that wasn't enough, because it was so cold, the tractor didn't want to start (it finally did), and the pressure tank for the water in the house was losing it's pressure and making the water pump cycle over and over again. That's not something you want to happen because it could burn the pump out. My husband has been doing the chores, which I am grateful for, as I'm just getting over a bout with a sinus infection and bronchitis, but this morning he got an extra work out. He has to check on his parents every morning to make sure everything is working fine at their house and then he takes care of the animals and checks all the machinery. There are lots of buildings and equipment to check as well as close to 100 animals to look after. While he is choring, often a neighbor will call or come by, needing help. This morning chores took and extra length of time. My husband operates the road grader for the township which means that he has to keep the roads graded and cleared of snow, so that was something else he had on his “to do” list today. With school being out last week for several days because of the ice storm the administration was not going to let the weekend snowfall postpone school any longer, so roads must be clear and passable for the buses to travel bright and early Monday morning. By noon today he was gone and I was alone, alas, a quiet opportunity to reflect on God and His goodness. More on my reflection next time.