The power outage last Friday in Toronto was notable for a couple of reasons. First, nearly 250,000 people lost power for twenty four hours of the coldest weather on record and second, I bet you haven't heard about it. The good news is that right out of the gate, those without power were instructed to find shelter fast, because their homes were going to get cold and stay cold for at least 18 hours. (They also were told to leave a thread of water running on the lowest floor, to avoid pipes freezing and bursting, before they left). In what I have come to recognize as true Toronto spirit, everyone chipped in, almost no one was left unattended, and very little trauma came out of the incident. Less praiseworthy was the initial radio coverage of the outage, which went something like this: "If you are in the affected area, please check out our website for information on nearby shelters and school closing information." Um? And then there was this: the day after the Toronto blackout and the restoration of power to the freezing masses, the Toronto Star arrived. This is a city paper of some renown. It covers the human stories of our community, the grit of our city. Perhaps more than any other paper, it really represents what's going on here. I picked it up Saturday in hopes of learning about how our neighbors had weathered the day. The headline read, simply, "OBAMA!" The entire front page covered Obama. Somewhere on page two a city counselor was photographed holding a candle near a cold elderly woman who'd elected to stay home while her house took on the feeling of a yurt with a sun roof.
(Caution: before you mock Canadians for lacking a sense of self in the shadow of Obama's inauguration, glance in the mirror: a U.S. Air flight landing on the Hudson and unloading passengers off two balanced wings barely managed to grip a full news cycle).
In fact, I can only claim two small insights from the outage. One: emergency radios aren't just for camping trips. Two: It's about time I equipped my house with lights, radios and power generation that doesn't depend on the grid. The Newscasters urging those suffering in the dark and cold to check a website had a screw loose, for sure. But they were on to something - people need information, especially when something goes wrong. How long will the power be out? Is it safe to walk outside, or are there likely to be live wires across the road? Is this situation short term or long term? And how do we find out? I was listening to the radio in the car when Maryanne from west of Bathurst called in. "I have a crank radio," she said, "So I have been telling my neighbors where the shelters are. But I don't know anyone who has a crank-up computer, so you can lay off the website talk." Soon, I'll have a crank radio, too, so I can be just as helpful. (I'm already that snarky).
It has been a magical winter in Toronto. The snow seems to come daily, coating the cars and our would-be lawns with fresh gentle heaps of sparkle. I realized on Saturday that the magic of snow in the city and the inspiration of Obama's hopeful determination have become intermingled. With a sense of wonder comes the will to be engaged, no matter what comes. You all set? I am. I'm getting a Freeplay crank radio. (And I'm going to crank it!)
Add comment