Fall storms here look a bit like a Chinese Lion Dance. The trees bow their shaggy, and colorful leaf manes to the ground and rise and twist and shake, and then pull up straight, tall, proud, confident. The wind roars and whips as the rains fall; the trees flex and ride.
October 2011, we had a different kind of fall storm. Snow fell heavy and hard on trees filled with green leaves. The trees groaned under the weight as they tried to flex and move to survive, but their centuries old response was no match for the new challenge of early snow, snow before the leaves had changed color and dropped. It was a terrifying battle. The trees’ howls and whines turned to rips, cracks and crashes and the next morning found us without electricity in a snow covered landscape of felled and broken trees. We were two and a half weeks without electricity in the center of a suburban town. My mother, my cat and I were lucky enough to stay with her brother; my 83 year old father stayed in the town’s emergency shelter. It was sad and heartbreaking all around.
Afterward, there was a bit of finger pointing at the politicians and the electric company but three years later, not much has changed. I fear another early snow or a serious hurricane, like we had the next October, Hurricane Sandy. There are problems in our infrastructure and delivery systems. There are big problems in our response to disaster. I knew this.
The morning of September 11, 2001, I was a Section 8 inspector in a new city. I drove out to inspect a home that was one of several, identical, small brick houses on a dead end street. As I turned into the street, it appeared everyone who lived on the street was outside waiting for me. They told me we were under attack. I did not know. We decided to go into the home, which I was to inspect, and watch the news together. There may or may not be atheists in foxholes; but there are few people who turn from the government when there is a disaster. The tenants were scared but calm and ready for action.
The Housing Authority gave no leadership or support through me or the main office. Neither was I directed to gather information that may have been needed for an evacuation. For example, there was only one working car on this block at the time, but there were several disabled people that would have needed help. My orders, when they finally came, were to return the car to the company parking lot and go home. Downtown was being evacuated in fear that the Bank of America building might be the next target. Command: Leave the tenants; drive to the possible target.
Would there be a different reaction today? Would there be leadership that is respectful of the citizenry? Of workers? Would there be leadership directed to solutions? Unlikely. A recent investigation by ProPublica found “ the Red Cross’ efforts to provide food, shelter and supplies after the 2012 storms, ( Hurricane Sandy) … was repeatedly undercut by its leadership. Top Red Cross officials were concerned only about the appearance of aid, not actually delivering it,” Many leaders today are posers or uninterested.
Our responses are inadequate for our battles but unlike trees, we could adjust. Grace Lee Boggs said, “It is time to embrace the idea that we are the leaders we’ve been looking for.” There are answers out there and there are worthy people. If we respect the patience of the populace in crisis, If we remember the bravery and the hard work of the first responders, the second responders and the clean up crews, Then discuss, complain, Demand solutions. This is a real choice. There will be more disasters.
References: http://www.propublica.org/article/the-red-cross-secret-disaster;
Violets in the Grass 