Just another quick note to explain my recent absence here – I am beginning Day 10 of no electrical power at the house and found it impossible to access the internet anyplace else over the weekend. Even my local library, which is right across the street from the courthouse and sheriff’s department remains without power, in fact, and all of the retail store wifi hotspots were completely overrun with customers.
On top of everything else, I attended the funeral yesterday of a young woman who grew up with my daughters, someone who spent many hours in my home from the time she was about three years old until everyone went off to college. I admire the courage shown by her parents in dealing with their loss and can barely comprehend how they are managing it.
I am somewhat hopeful that we will be reconnected to the rest of the world by the end of the week, but my Pessimism/Optimism scale has swung way over to the Pessimism side in the last couple of days. It feels strange to come in to work and become aware of everything that has been happening all over the world since I could last check. But, in one sense, being this isolated has been a bit of a blessing considering the way that things are generally sliding downhill – can you tell I’ve turned into a pessimist?
Houston humidity is back and daytime temperatures are approaching 90 degrees again, making for some uncomfortable sleeping conditions but the biggest problem, for me personally, is how long the nights seem to last. It gets completely dark before 8:30 p.m. and there’s barely a hint of daylight much before 7:00 a.m. the next morning. I’ve never been one to sleep much more than six hours a night, so I’ve been waking up around two or three in the morning and trying to read by a tiny light for a while or listening to the radio repeat the same old thing over and over for the rest of the night.
I’ve confirmed the fact that I am not even close to being pioneer material.
I am sorry to hear about the loss of your daughters' friend. Two years ago, a young woman who grew up with my children suddenly dropped dead of an undiagnosed heart condition. She was only 23 -- one of the most heartbreaking funerals I have ever had to attend. The fortitude and grace of her parents' was unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking of you lately, Sam. Hope everything comes out all right over there. You sound like you're hanging in there, which is good, so keep it up.
ReplyDeletewow, I so am sorry.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry that you're going through all this--and anyway, I don't know many who have lived in the modern world who are pioneer material, so don't feel bad :)
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