Ice Storm Of ’98

Sometimes the earth is cruel, in many ways actually, but back during the Ice Storm of ’98, it was the cruelest I’ve heard it being in a long time, especially up in New England. When people’s power was out for weeks on end, and no one had heat, water, running low on food, and hope. Many people that lived in Maine, even the people that didn’t work for CMP were grabbing shovels and beginning to help with roads being covered in snow, and fallen trees that were covering the road as well. All of this, because sometimes the Earth is cruel. But in Pitts’ message, it seemed as though with Hati, it seemed like their problems had just been beginning. New England was declared to be in a state of emergency, and people from nearby states were rushing up to help us. Power lines everywhere were down, ice had coated everything, so many people didn’t have heat, water, and food was scarce.

My parents used to tell me the story of the ice storm every year when the snow began to set in, because even a little snow seemed like the end of the world, but it never occured to me that the end of the world could look much worse, as explained by Pitts about Hati. But I hate being left in the dark, so the snow to me, means no power, and that means anxiety to me. Now that I also have two little lives of my lizards to worry about, the thought of no power, and no heat for them, also means death. Without power, my lizards have no heat, meaning they are completely vulnerable to the cold. So they tell me that it’s not going to be as bad as it was then. Everyone called it the “Once-In-A-Lifetime Storm.” I hope that will always hold true.

Although it wasn’t my experience that I went through, it has helped me cope with a light dusting of snow that happens to fall sometimes. But even though it was a state-wide tragedy, but dad found humor to it. When the power came back on, you could hear the buzzing of the electricity coming in through the power lines, and my father and my sister both jumped up and screamed because they were happy the power was back on. Although he’s still upset that he went 14 days without coffee, he still finds a way to laugh at it to this day. This kind of relates to Pitts message, because the people of Hati had to make do without a lot of things. I’m sure coffee was the least of their concerns, with the entire population at risk for death, some people sleeping outdoors, children and babies crying, and many dead, lying silently in rubble. I found this powerful, yet heartbreaking. My father was able to find humor in this tragety, but the way that Pitt’s made his writing sound, it was sad, and awful, and there was no humor to be found in this tragety of dead lying in the streets, and Hati falling apart, and yet all because the Earth had to be cruel, and the Earth can affect everyone differently. Be it positive or negitive. Pitts uses strong language and hard facts to affect the readers.

In conclusion, the Earth can be cruel, but it’s taught my family and I how to keep warm during an ice storm, or even a really bad snowstorm. We know the importance of drawing water, and knowing how to store food, and heat things up with a gas stove if there is no power, so that is a strategy on how to keep warm, and how to heat things up as well. When you’ve been through it before, you know what to do when it seems like the world is coming to an end.