When it All Turned to Ice

“The idea of the Texan, and I was born and raised here, as the independent, go it alone, don’t mess with me, every man for himself, individualist is an old, sorry, selfish trope.”

After a year of Covid, the ice storm came. Actually, for me, starting in the fall of 2019, the Troubles began with a broken tooth that required an implant, then a severe case of poison ivy, and then a year of Covid. And then the ice storm, which began with a black ice wreck on the freeway (no injuries, car totaled), then 5 days without electricity as the temperature inside our home drifted down to 40 degrees. Then no water. Then the struggle to find another place to stay with roads too icy to travel and hotels full. 

Finally, and luckily, we found a hotel suite not far down the road with a bedroom, living room and small kitchenette. We grabbed some clothes and the dog and settled in for over a week until our apartment had heat and water again. Central Texans are not good with this weather, we are ill equipped and inexperienced. So, we were anxious every time we went outside, every time we had to drive our other car. The grocery stores were full of empty shelves, not just empty of toilet paper this time, but of water–all the water. And very little fresh food.

Underneath the anxiety, built up for over a year, were the persistent thoughts. What about the others? What happened to the people in the homeless camp under the freeway? What about the people who can’t afford food or shelter, what about people who need power for medical devices, what about those who live alone? What about the people in flooded homes with nowhere to go?

I hope that the lesson in all of this for the people of Texas is that we must do a far better job of taking care of the most vulnerable among us. We must be better prepared for emergencies. We must collaborate, have friends and neighbors—and other states and governments—to call on in an emergency. And we must help them when they call on us. This begins at the top, with our government. And with our collective support for the essential organizations whose mission is to serve critical needs.

The idea of the Texan, and I was born and raised here, as the independent, go it alone, don’t mess with me, every man for himself, individualist is an old, sorry, selfish trope. We live in a rich country, we live in a prosperous state, if we don’t use that wealth to make this place better for all, we are a failure. And if we well-heeled white folk don’t get it that we were born into privilege and have an obligation to lift others up, we have learned nothing and have wasted our unearned privilege.

We were born on third base, but we have not hit a home run. Not yet anyway.