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| Photo from Monday, the 15th, versus today, Friday, the 19th. Thanking God for the sunshine! Amen. |
Okay. Now that we have put that weather thing behind us, I suppose it is time to return to our normal day-by-day living. It is Monday, February 23, 2021, and I find myself thanking God for getting us through as well as we were able to make it. The photo collage was one I posted on Facebook last Friday. It shows our story where we, like so many others, did our best to cope with the very low temperatures. We did feel the impact of a brief power outage but it was nothing like the plight suffered by so many. Some were without power for almost the duration of the winter storm. I watched as much as I could stand of the televised roundtable where the President of Ercot and his chief operations director tried to explain what had brought about the electrical grid's inability to maintain power during the storm. I've been in a lot of high-level meetings where folks were mostly interested in passing the buck and this zoom telecast was that type of presentation on steroids. ("Passing the buck" originated from a ritual practiced during card games. Card players used to place a marker, called a "buck," in front of the person who was the dealer. ... Eventually "passing the buck" became synonymous with passing on responsibility.) This idiom was the basis of President Truman's refusal to do so when he said, "The buck stops here." The president of Ercot makes a lot of money and he certainly could have stepped up to his being the face of the grid. But, in my way of seeing it, that P/R stunt failed miserably, and like I said, I couldn't stay with it and listen to so many lame excuses. Just me. You may have a different take. That's okay. For now, we are still allowed to have a take.
The impact from the grid failures was much more than the inconvenience, displacement, and even the suffering endured by individuals. The power outages led to a vast number of water system failures, pipe ruptures, and, serious structural damage to homes and businesses. It will take some time to assess the total cost of this disastrous outcome, but, clearly, the cold itself is not the only culprit here. Some believe it could take out the Governor himself since he appointed the Ercot people and he is ultimately responsible. There are additional folks in that chain including those directly responsible for the grid itself. Meanwhile, the politicians are not wasting any time in making this an advantage for the opposing party. Don't get me wrong, it works this way on both sides of the aisle. Sadly, and, I don't want to be negative here, but, if it works like it usually does, there will be a lot of huffing and puffing, a so-called investigation, a written white paper, and when it is all said and done, things will be mostly the same while we wait for the next threat to come along and reignite the issues. Don't discount the use of the mainstream media to use this particular failure to further their progressive agenda. Don't doubt me on this.
From yesterday's posting on Facebook: Happy, Happy 30th Birthday to our granddaughter Brittany, daughter of our eldest Chris and wife Sherrie. We thank God for her and her family, husband Ryan, daughter Gabriella, and the new addition who will soon make his/her appearance. May God continue to bless is our prayer. Our love, MiMi and Poppy
Regarding the winter storm, be clear, I'm not promoting a down-and-out mindset because I saw too many instances of people going out of their way to help others during this difficult weather event. Those stories are not the ones being heralded by the national press, however, they too make up what the people of Texas are all about. Have a great rest of the day and may God continue to bless. Amen. ....More later.
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