Blackout

Like most of the east coast, I’ve just been through the blackout. Neighborhood by neighborhood power is finally coming back here in Ann Arbor. The fact that I can now connect to the Internet means that a fair amount of the power grid must be up in this part of Michigan.r
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Last night, laying in bed in a muggy dark house, there was a feeling of real helplessness. For a living, I help run an e-commerce website, and I went to work this morning, expecting no one to be there and then to head home. Much to my surprise, almost the whole office was there working on a big project preparing mailings to 100’s of customers. In spite of the fact that we had no power, and therefore no website up and running, still the office worked hard to get things done. It was a nice feeling to be able to get something done in light of the strange situation we found ourselves in.r
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The interesting and wonderful thing about difficult times is the sense of community that grows among people. When things interrupt our daily back and forth, I think it gives us all time to reflect on what’s really important, and number one on that list is (or should be) just enjoying the company of our fellow human beings.