When my husband and I moved to Texas two years ago – lured here by the promise of grandchildren – we knew that tornadoes would be an issue. We never imagined, however, that we would one day find ourselves living without power or clean water, because officials failed to ensure that the Texas power grid could carry the load during record COLD temperatures.
Like millions across The Lone Star State, this was our reality for a number of days last month. As the grid struggled, many neighborhoods lost all power, while others experienced rolling outages. Across the state, counties issued mandatory water boil orders, as water treatment plants lost power. Curious about how one boils water without power? So am I.
We were among the lucky ones, because we at least had heat and lights every other 60 – 90 minutes, and I have a gas range that I could use to boil water almost non-stop – important as our girls and grandchild moved in with us for the week. (Both of these young families braved icy roads to get to our home, after their neighborhoods lost power.)
The suffering and death across Texas caused by this catastrophic failure will not soon be forgotten. Burned into my mind forever are the images of fellow-Texans begging for help, many huddled in their cars desperate to get warm or waiting in long lines for food and water.
Yet, amidst this horror, I saw the best of mankind. A furniture store owner opened his showroom to the community, providing them a warm, safe place to ride out the power outage. A former Syrian refugee in Dallas made 700 meals in her home kitchen to feed those gathered in a nearby shelter. A couple took in a delivery driver for six days, after her car was trapped on their driveway. And on and on.
As I watched and read the news coverage of these heartwarming stories, I was reminded of how strong we are, as a country, when we come together. During this crisis, politics didn’t matter, nor did race or religion. There was no “other.” We were just humans. A dear friend of mine summed it up perfectly. “The coming together of small groups and communities in response to the crisis also shows how important this fragile unity is, beyond politics and divisiveness…this collaboration, solidarity, compassion, this brotherly love can allow for history to be changed for the better.”
The work required to heal the deep divides in our country is daunting, but Texans demonstrated during this storm that we CAN rise above politics, fear, and hate – one tiny step forward in our quest to achieve A World Without Hate.
~ Marisa W. Barthel, Board Member, World Without Hate