Our Cold Pearl

Imagine the solar system as an oyster in the black ocean of the universe. And imagine our earth as a pearl inside the oyster, slowly being coated in a hard, shiny nacreous material. Imagine that! That's what's going on outside. 
Only instead of opalescence, it's ice. 

The Boomer generation was used to a certain stability of climate, but it seems that the generations following will be incorporating climate change into their culture. These increasingly violent fluctuations that are so disruptive to older generations are going to be the norm for the younger generations. As a Boomer, I'm reminded of Bob Dylan's disturbing song,"The Times, They Are A'Changin'." 

Where I live in Ohio, there is a Level 3 Emergency in force, meaning that only necessary vehicles are allowed on the roads, and anyone else can be ticketed. I guess that means police cruisers, ambulances, and pizza delivery kids. Over 70,000 people in our area are reportedly without power due to heavy ice glazing tree branches and power lines, causing them to fracture and break. Predictions of power outages lasting several days have been issued. 

So how would you spend your life with no power for a week? Have you ever given this any thought? No heat, no hot water, no landline, no tv, no radio without batteries. Your chargers can no longer charge. Your fish tanks  stop filtering. Your microwave doesn't zap. Your power tools don't run. Your desktop is  dead. Your oxygen concentrator goes silent. Your refrigerator stops humming, although you could put perishables outside since ice is covering everything.

Your life will never seem the same to you after this is over.