Friday, November 2, 2012

the natives are growing restless

So a scant 5 days after the hurricane, New Yorkers are going feral. Multiple generations most certainly were not prepared for an interruption in the supply of gubmint cheese. The entitlement crowd, all 47% of them, are entirely unwilling to walk a couple of miles to load up on groceries for a day or two, and seem to prefer stealing, dumpster diving and giving seriously (un)classy fodder for the entertainment pleasure of the millions of Americans who, right now, are so very grateful to not be in New York.

 If I seem somewhat callous, call it a response in having grown up on the fringe of a coastal flood zone and being somewhat insistent on a degree of self-reliance. I wish I could say that the majority of the victim society is made up of elderly and infirm residents who need legitimate help, but there seems to be no shortage of able-bodied people seemingly more than healthy enough to get their stirrup-panted fat ass in front of a microphone, but unable to to stomach the idea of walking to the top of a hill 3 miles away to load up on canned goods at one of the many working bodegas and small shops that, amazingly, my coworkers have had no trouble at all in finding, despite being based in the hardest-hit portions of Red Hook.

     My dad used to say that poor planning on my part shouldn't constitute a crisis on his. While I could always rely on him to save the day, I dreaded asking him to. I wish I saw more of that, but I'm assuming that there's help out there. The narrative on TV currently focuses on how unlikely New Yorkers are to survive without attaching an umbilical cord to us all from Uncle Sugar to our growling stomachs.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

"If I seem somewhat callous", it is because you are. Paul, you're better than this.

Irish said...

It's not callous to point out the truth.

Paul, Dammit! said...

Anon, I probably should have flushed out my thoughts more fully- there are hundreds of people sitting in front of where their houses used to be; these people need and deserve help. That being said, there are tens of thousands of able-bodied people who need to take control of their own rescue and walk 2 hours to the store for themselves and the people next door. This in no way diminishes my sympathy for the many people who just want to eat and get to work but can't because public transportation isn't running. I remember the Blizzard of '78 in Mass, when my folks took in neighbors and the healthy men in the area banded together to walk to the store, which took 12 hours. It was 2 weeks before anything worked and the roads opened. I don't believe that people were more resilient then; I believe that they were less inclined to expect help from the Great White Father.

bigsoxfan said...

Amen, and sorry about your truck.

Anonymous said...

Well said. Can you even begin to imagine a Cat 2 or 3 up there? Highest recorded gust I saw was 90 and your estimate of 100. And I watch both the shore stations and the bouys closely.
Glad you are ok and sorry about your truck. I know I am toast with a cat 4 or 5. Out back yard backs up to mangroves.
I also agree with your comment, I feel for the old and others unable to help themselves.
Terry
Fla.

HT said...

Paul you are so right on point. I live in the mountains of P.A, and my area is just now getting back phone and electric. It is standard up here to have Coleman (portable) propane stoves,heaters,battery lamps,water and fuel lamps.And a good selection of canned goods,we loose basic services quite a lot. I would bet that some N.Y ers will be better prepared the next time a storm is coming their way.Sorry to hear about your truck! that sucks!!

HT said...

Jeezit, I am going back to reading a book...I made the mistake of turning on the T.V (had no electric for 6 days) that's all that is on is either dumb ass reality shows or people complaining that live in N.Y ( I guess that too can be construed as dumbass reality shows ) I see what you mean Paul, I am sorry to say that these folks should be ashamed of there selves!

eastriver said...

Paul,clearly you have no clue of city life. Why do we pay ridiculous taxes? Because we rely on, and depend on the infrastructure. We pay for it.
Trouble is, when it fails, you're screwed... like my retired friend with bad knees who had to walk up/down 10 floors to do anything, including drink water. 'Cause the gravity system only works for 6 floors without electric pumps. Forget about 2 miles for food, cause there was none -- till FEMA realized that the stores were empty *before* the storm and decided to send out the Guard with MREs.

If the same sort of privations occured in, say, Florida, bloody mayhem would ensue.

Stick to what you're good at. Understanding city life is not one of those things.

eastriver said...

PS -- I AM sorry about your truck.

Paul, Dammit! said...

I absolutely do not understand city life. You're right there. I would absolutely stuck-start a shotgun before I lived in a city.

I do understand taking personal responsibility, though. There's a reason that you sometimes inspect the spare tire in the trunk.

bowsprite said...

This is invaluable. Been making the list, and now, I will add:

"When older and with worse knees, do not live above a floor I can hobble to on my own."

Also there is: "Do not live on water's edge,
Do not depend on anyone but yourself,
Do not make yourself a liability...keep yourself healthy to help others."
Yes, with each storm, I am getting better prepared!

Sorry about truck, dog, candidate. My candidates I voted for didn't win either.