Winter of discontent

THE PAST WEEK was one that tested our resolve. Polar air plunged down on Texas, colorbook-shading the entire state blue on weather maps. These images were my momentary escapes from that reality, one in which the state’s electric grid suffered a catastrophic breakdown, leaving millions in the dark and heatless during record cold temperatures. 

My family was without power for 62 hours, during which temperatures stayed well below freezing and bottomed out one night at 0 F. Neighbors were neighborly, and about 40 hours into it, we were lucky to borrow a generator that knocked the chill out of bedrooms and allowed for some hot meals. Our pool froze with damage yet to be determined and, a few counties away, burst water pipes forced my daughter out of her apartment building. Still, we were lucky compared to many. The death toll at this writing stands at 47, a number that will surely grow in the coming days.

With power now restored, a light also will soon shine on the shoddy regulation and poor governance leading to this tragedy. Until then, I’ll find cold comfort in nature’s beauty.