People spend way too much time crying about non-problems that I think we forget hoe easy life is nowadays. Take this "winter storm" we are in the middle of right now. Because of technology, we knew it was coming, we were not surprised that we were going to be inundated with cold. Given what we know, the smarter ones of us made the necessary preparations and went to the store a couple days beforehand and got what we might need. We also got a chance to "batten down the hatches" as it were at home. I, for example, drained the water from my pool pumps when the weather was nicer, so I won't have to worry about them freezing. I also wrapped my outside faucets and Wife brought in the few plants we have in the patio.
One hundred years ago, or even before weather forecasting became what it is today, thousands of people may have been caught unprepared and even died from simple exposure to the cold, even here in Texas. We see the weather problems up north on the news, and as bad as it seems, and plenty of people still find ways to die in bad weather, at least we are warned to travel with supplies, keep food and water in the car, you never know when you might get stuck in bad weather out on some remote road. The beauty of today is that we have up to the minute information at our hands, literally, with the phones we all get to carry. It is nice to know this particular cold snap is only lasting a day or two.
Some jackass is still going to say, "but the poor this and the poor that", life like everything else is set up as a big bell curve. Most will be okay, some, at the extremes, get fucked. It is sad, but we don't live in heaven where everyone is equal, but it is still better than most other places to live.
My point still remains, the great majority of us that participate in society knew about the cold front coming, most of us have warm shelters, and food reserves to sit at home for a couple days and just wait it out. Shoot, even our clothes is technologically superior to something from a generation or two ago. I rarely wear more than a light jacket and because stuff is designed so well, it is probably equivalent to multiple layers that would have been worn back in the day.
Either way, I appreciate where we are, as a human, and will take time to reflect and think about the world we live in. It's nice that instead of having to be out there, maybe cursing the world as to why this cold showed up out of nowhere and here we are, stuck in a ditch by the side of the road or worse. No, we just get to stare out the window, with a cup of coffee and just smile that we get to stay safe and cozy, for this round of calamity.
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