I am writing by the window to get some light. We have power outage here in Thornhill. IT started at about nine on Saturday and it is already eleven in the morning Sunday and electricity is not back.
Is this the last storm of the year? I wonder!. There are nine more days left.
I woke up this morning on a very cold bed. It was quiet and there was light coming through the gap between the drapes. I got up and looked out.
It was winter wonderland with thick icicles hanging on the big maple in front of our house. The walkway was like a glass plate. I am sure it would be trouble walking on it.
There were few cars passing by. I guess many people decided to stay in. There was a warning on TV about this ice storm.
To my surprise, there is hot water from the tap. But this will not last long. This is just a part of the storage in the tank.
We had lukewarm instant coffee with the some cold bagels. I am not sure what we shall have for lunch.
There is no heat in the house. I am wearing three layers of clothes and socks. I keep on walking around the house to keep warm. My extremities became stiff when I sit for long.
I am worried about the food in the freezer. The shopping for Christmas is already done and the meats are getting defrosted too soon.
I am planning to stack them in the cooler and put it outside in the deck, but I am afraid the raccoons might find them and that would be the end of the Christmas feast.
I am sure these crafty creatures would be able to open the cooler. Well, leave them where they are and hope for the power to return soon.
Now, I once more realize how dependent we are to these modern conveniences. Turn the switch and you have lights, turn the tap and you have hot water. Press a few buttons of the microwave and the food is warm.
Curl in the sofa and press this thing in your hand and lo! the television is on.
Reach for the cordless phone and dial your number’ or text, and chat for as long as you wish with your relative in another part of the world. Long distance calls are now affordable.
When you get tired of chatting, turn to your laptop and email some gossips to your friends. To update your family and friend on how you now look and where you have been, turn to the U-Tube, the Twitter and other social media outlets and post your latest pictures.
I can go on and on for hours enumerating the things that one can do with modern technology which…..pttt…in a millisecond can be gone due to the superpower of nature.
I remember these days in the Philippines when there were storms and we did not have electricity for days.
The gas lamps were on; my mother kept on cooking in our woodstove. We had no radio or television to watch; we did not have hot water in the faucet in the first place.
What is this ice storm that most of us went through while fast asleep in our comfortable beds, compared to the horrors of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) that downed buildings, churches and trees, and carried away houses in swift currents with people and their belongings, to death and destruction.
What is this ice storm compared to the tornadoes and hurricanes of 2013 in the United States, that flattened the lands and left thousands homeless?
What is this ice storm compared to thousands that perished in fires, conflicts, suicide bombings and executions in troubled and very poor countries of the world?
What are our turmoil’s anyway?
One of the most tragic was the train derailment in Quebec that killed 47 people.
Two suspected terrorists who were said had plans to attack trains were apprehended. Not much of turmoil, except that one wants to be tried according to laws he believes in. No way!
Then there were the senate scandals. The amounts involved were not as substantial as those lost in E-Health, Orange and the cancellation of two oil generation stations in Ontario, but the furor occupied the headlines for sometime probably because two of those involved were formerly well-known and highly respected journalists.
Purely political, some say.
The lingering one and probably may drag on to 2014, belongs to the comic page.
The main character looks like most of the clowns in the circus with his antics and language. He can be very entertaining except that his behaviour does not fit the position of leadership0 he was elected to.
The people in his city expects him to be a role model, not a laughing stock; a man of dignity not one who retracts what he says every other day.
A young superstar Canada was very proud of has brought sighs of disbelief and disapproval most of 2013. He was seen urinating in public places, spitting and uttering four letter words at people arriving in his concert engagements.
It is sad that the career of this young artist seems to be coming to an end at a very early stage.
As a whole 2013 has been a rather bad year, both of nature caused as well as of man-made calamities.
In the GTA, we are tired of hearing about the everyday sideshows at the City Hall. We hope this winter is not as bad as forecasted.
We hope for peace in the Middle East. May the 2013 old man take all the bad winds with him.
May everybody have a prosperous and Happy New Year!
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