As if a pandemic, global recession, and race riots weren’t enough to make 2020 a joyful year, mommy nature sent a hurricane into the east coast and up the I95 corridor to wreak havoc in my neck of the woods.  This wasn’t a monster storm.  It only rained for a few hours. But it brought high winds that dropped trees and tossed debris like beads during Mardi Gras.  It caught my local power authority off guard and for over a week after the storm, many remained without power.  Mine was out for 4 days.  This also happened in the middle of a heat wave.  Personally, I can rough it without power just fine, but it is tough on my family.  They are quite fond of everything that has a plug.  It was also hard on my 13 year old pug.  That breed has trouble breathing under ideal conditions.  Due to her advanced age and a myriad of health problems which would garner lots of street cred at an assisted living facility dinner table, she went into respiratory distress and spent a night on oxygen at the emergency vet.  They felt her symptoms were so severe and indicative of enough health problems that we talked about putting her down.  The happy ending was that our power came back, AC was restored and she hacks and coughs just like before the storm.

By: Jonathan Glazer

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