You know the adage about not appreciating things until they’re gone? For most of this week, more than three million people in Texas have been without electricity due to uncharacteristically frigid and snowy weather that has pummeled a swath of the southern US. We in Colorado can usually deal with cold, snowy weather. We had our own deep freeze last weekend and early this week — it usually happens every year. For the most part, infrastructure around here is built to withstand the sometimes frigid cruelties of Mother Nature.
That’s not the case in other states. The freezing cold and snow have been responsible for a number of deaths and tremendous inconvenience and discomfort in Texas.
Electricity, once a “modern” luxury, is now a life-saving necessity. Think of people with sleep apnea who depend on CPAP machines to keep them breathing all night while they sleep. Many other crucial medical devices run on electricity. Hospitals have back-up generators, but the not the average family home.
Of course, we will grumble when we see that whopper of a power bill come next month, but — to reference another cliche, it’s better than the alternative!
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