Remembering Simpler, Tougher Times Thanks to Sandy | World of ...

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those who were deeply affected by this storm. There are those who?ve lost much more than just power; the hurricane?s aftermath is unbelievably tragic.

Last night was the first time in a week that I didn?t have to sleep in two layers and three blankets, with my muscles contracting and my body contorting itself in a very awkward position to ward off the frigid, New York air. I was also able to turn on the light and bask in my illuminated bedroom ? sans the pitch-blackness circling around me.

There was light and there was heat. We emerged from the Dark Ages.

Since households all over the Northeast lost power because of the disastrous effects of super-storm Sandy, I couldn?t help but feel that we were stepping back into another era. Did women wear those bonnets in colonial days to keep warm?

Heat and electricity ? two entities that I missed the most. Pretty basic, right?

Well, all of this made me think about the way people lived back in the ?olden days,? the days of yore, ?Little House on the Prairie,? the 19th century? well, you get the drift. It?s certainly impressive, and it points up my good fortune in being born into a completely different time period. I only hoped not to trip on the stairs while holding onto a lantern to see my way down. I also wished not to light myself on fire whenever I lit a match to make tea on the stove (I could be rather clumsy).

As part of the current 20-something generation, I find these blackouts ? along with the pioneering lifestyle ? novel. I can?t even admit to you that I?m highly tech-savvy, since I?m really not, but of course technology is an integral component of our daily lives. Television and Internet entertainment aside, the mere invention of the telephone ? whether rotary or cell ? is really a wonderful thing.

The ability to stay connected to people you care about is definitely taken for granted. At least it was by me, as I scrounged for outlets any chance I got. Others had a similar idea, and the local coffee shop transformed into a charging station, flooded with people who took up every nook and cranny as they plugged in their phones and laptops and became happily technological. I even noticed a young girl sitting on the floor, enjoying her Wi-Fi connection near the restroom.

You might wonder how I occupied myself during the week-long outage. I?ll admit that one of those nights was spent examining how my pupils changed sizes according to flashlight adjustments (Not kidding.) And we could always gather around the candlelight and converse, but the cold, dark room didn?t provide much comfort.

How did those pioneers do it?

????Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 16 Nov 2012
????Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Suval, L. (2012). Remembering Simpler, Tougher Times Thanks to Sandy. Psych Central. Retrieved on November 17, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/11/17/remembering-simpler-tougher-times-thanks-to-sandy/

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Source: http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/11/17/remembering-simpler-tougher-times-thanks-to-sandy/

jackie robinson