A Study in Survival

wow.
So was -13° the other morning.
If you think you read that wrong, 13 Below Zero, before wind chill factor.  I have to think in a whole new way here. As a born and raised Californian,  I have never, ever had to think about the implications of what one needs to do, know, or should have in case one's car breaks down.  I was told the story of a man whose car slid into a ditch, was knocked unconscious, and froze before anyone saw his car.  I am not cancelling my OnStar for emergency anytime soon.  They can find me even if I am unconscious.

I always loved the writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder. I loved reading about pioneers.  Struggling in the wilderness against tremendous odds sounded like one fun adventure to me. There is a book by Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Long Winter, with her family, her older sister now blind from scarlett fever, and two younger sisters, spending a winter that starts October 1st, slowly starving and running out of coal.

I am now pulling out these books and looking at them with new eyes.  These are studies in survival.

Laura lies in bed one night.  "Now she heard the Indian war whoops when the Indians were dancing their war dances all through the horrible nights by the Verdigris River.  But she knew it was only the wind."

A study in survival; they finally run out of coal and must bring hay into the "Lean-to" of the house to twist into something burnable.  This is no small feat.  Laura and her father sit together in the cold of the lean-to picking up handfuls of hay at least 2 feet long.  Twisting and twisting it, doubling it over and making these hay sticks as hard as possible so that they will burn as long as possible.  They do this until their hands bleed and they can't stand the bitter cold of the lean-to any longer.  They bring these "sticks" into the house to burn and get warm enough to go back out and start again ...for months.

On her first attempt, Laura was only able to make six before her hands were cut up by the straw.

The word has gotten to town that the supply train, now overdue by months, has no way to get there until spring.  People are running out of food and trying to leave.  And if you think (as I did) that this is the olden days, and everyone helped each other ...well, human nature is human nature, and prices on any remaining supplies are jacked up.  The general store is long empty anyway.

It is still only January.
 "February is a short month and March will be spring." Pa said encouragingly.

A man in town butchers his ox and sells it at 25¢/pound.  Pa is able to bring home four pounds.  They do have wheat seed.  Ma is able to grind it, in a coffee grinder that holds a half cup.  It is a complicated matter to be grinding and grinding, making the bread with a sourdough starter, and stocking the stove with straw sticks,  so it burns hot enough and long enough to bake bread.

There is a rumour of a man, miles away who has a stockpile of wheat.  Things have gotten so dire that Almanzo Wilder (Laura's future husband) and his friend set out in the general direction to find this person and demand his help as people are now on the brink of starving to death.

Obviously Laura Ingalls Wilder lived to tell this story.  Obviously people died from the cold and exposure, the isolation, and running out of supplies far more than I have ever given thought to. But it is sunny.  The sun streams through my east facing front windows and without that, this experience would probably be much more diificult.  Especially in the mornings.  These mornings when I think about every little thing.

A Study in Survival.  Part 2

I was living in San Francisco when the Loma Prieta earthquake hit. B and I had just turned off Van Ness Avenue to go get an early dinner. Parked cars began bouncing on either side and I did not comprehend what I was seeing. Traffic stopped and people leaned out the windows. " Was that an earthquake?"

I heard and witness a phenomenon I will never forget. The entire city shut down. It was an arching sound, a low moan, dropping two octaves to silence. Electric busses, restaurants, stoplights, everything stopped and everyone in the city was stunned into silence. We felt the best course of action was to get back to our Potrero Hill home.

As soon as we arrived, we pulled out a battery operated small B&W TV. After a bit, KRON/TV-4 got on the air with their helicopter. When they reached the Bay Bridge was when my stomach dropped and I began to realize the seriousness of this. A section of the Bay Bridge had collapsed and we all witnessed cars drive over the edge.
The helicopter proceeded to Hwy. 880. The upper deck collapsed onto the lower at the height of rush-hour traffic. At this point the ability to breath left me. Apartment buildings had sunk in the Marina, people were trapped and there were fires and death. A brick transient building collapsed killing nearly everyone in it.
One has a marvelous view of the downtown buildings and lights from Potrero Hill. Potrero Hill is solid rock and suffered no damage. There was a party atmosphere that night, all the neighbourhood was out, watching for the city lights to reappear.

It took 4 days reestablish stop lights, get back to normal, drivers were very polite. There were now closed freeway ramps all around the city that took years to repair and shore up.

The face of San Francisco changed forever. The controversial Embarcadero freeway was torn down and property values immediately soared. Broadway was no longer scary at night. The freeway that had blocked the view and thrown so many businesses and homes into shadow was now torn away, leaving the vistas San Francisco is most loved for.

So what was my point? Oh. We are all interdependent. Especially more so in our cities. To be a rugged individual in an apartment in midtown Manhattan does not have the value it may have on a farm, with sheep and crops, chopping wood, and the ability to build things.

I have always felt this interdependence will work out. I have always felt that this infrastructure which supports me will be there...
I don't have a crystal clear thought on this. Mostly people live in cities and suburbs. Mostly people need to earn money to survive in homes others have built. On food others have grown and shipped. We buy our clothes made by others. Our transportation is not the family horse anymore. Infrastructure is the base that we all stand on, connected together.