While some people have generators, our family did not, and the people I was with and I had to deal with a week without power and a way to cool our home, but my mother lives with us, and he has to stay comfortable and cool in order to manage his health, and I was left without a way to help her.
The Summer months in the southeastern US are hot and humid, and they also bring the trepidation of potential hurricane activity. We were fortunate for many years to not have active hurricane seasons, however this past Summer has seen hit after hit from hurricanes in our surrounding area. Tensions have been extremely high in our community, since the people I was with and I never believe where the next storm will make landfall. Watching the extensive damage to other areas create an atmosphere of fear and unparticularty, and while the people I was with and I all prepare to the best of our abilities, you still never believe what might happen, however about a month ago, our area was unfortunate enough to experience a direct hit from a major hurricane. One of the most difficult parts of going through a hurricane is the loss of power and our only way of staying comfortable in the heat; air conditioner. While some people have generators, our family did not, and the people I was with and I had to deal with a week without power and a way to cool our home, but my mother lives with us, and he has to stay comfortable and cool in order to manage his health, and I was left without a way to help her. We had a few battery powered fans that minimally helped, however nothing could replace the ease of a central air conditioner. In order to stay relatively cool, the people I was with and I would take short trips to the few grocery stores that had power restored to them. Even walking around the aisles that had charmingly freezing air conditioner streaming through them was enough to retain our sanity while in this trying time. This legitimately taught us how dependent the people I was with and I are on the comfort of having air conditioner, and how much the people I was with and I take having access to cool air for granted.
air duct