
 |
|
May 22, 2013
John Thorne:
They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman
May 20, 2013
Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Feb. 12, 2010
/ 28 Shevat 5770
Blizzard of 2010
By
Linda Chavez
| 
|
|
|
| |
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
I'm the kind of person who always has candles, extra matches and batteries on hand, as well as canned goods in the pantry, in case of an emergency. But I was far from prepared for the Mid-Atlantic Blizzard of 2010. We lost power for almost five days which is bad enough if you live in a city, but if you're out in the middle of nowhere, as we are, it can be life-threatening.
Rural folks are usually better prepared than city people, but for those of us who are transplants, it's a challenge. With 35 inches or more of snow on the ground and an 89-year-old mother, a 20-year-old parrot, two dogs and a husband to try to keep warm and fed, I'm worn out. But I learned a few lessons along the way, and maybe next time, I'll be better prepared.
First lesson: Buy a generator. When electricity goes out, so does heat and well water, which requires a pump to get to your house. If you hook up a portable generator to run your furnace and pump, you'll be a lot more comfortable when the power fails.
Second lesson: Next time a guy comes to your door offering to sell you a cord of wood, take him up on it. Those Presto logs they sell at the store work OK to create a romantic mood, but they don't throw off much heat. And a box of them lasts for about a day if you're burning them 'round the clock.
Third lesson: Don't give away old books; they burn better than artificial logs. I was glad I had a few left-wing tomes to throw in the fireplace, along with my collection of reports from the Center for Immigration Studies. I'm not sure which threw off more hot air, but they kept us warm for a few hours.

Fourth lesson: You can heat your house with snow. Since I have a propane stovetop (though, unfortunately not oven) I was able to boil enough snow to keep a small portion of the house warm with steam, that is if you consider 50 degrees warm. You can also use the boiled snow for drinking and cooking. I made a pretty tasty pot of black-eyed peas and a mean chicken and wild rice soup with snow, though we had to be careful to avoid the twigs that found their way into the mix.
Fifth lesson: Don't count on the government to rescue you. After several days of no heat or water and food getting low, the Virginia Department of Transportation did manage to plow our country road to within two-tenths of a mile from our house; though, in the process, they blocked all access to our drive with a 6-foot mountain of snow. Thankfully, we were able to hire a private operator to dig us out with a Bobcat.
Sixth lesson: If you're finally able to get out, stay there. Once the Bobcat cleared our drive, we were able to pack up and leave in our four-wheel drive truck. We took mom to a hotel and the parrot to our son's house. But when the power company notified us that the electricity was back on, my husband and I headed home with the dogs. Bad idea.
Now, snow is falling again, the wind is howling at 50 miles per hour, the house still isn't warm, and who knows how long the power will stay on. But we'll tough it out. We bought more logs, filled up every pot in the house with water and stacked more books near the fireplace giving all new meaning to the phrase "burn after reading." I'm actually looking forward to the challenge now that the most vulnerable members of the household are safe and warm. But as soon as the snow melts, I'm headed to Home Depot to buy the biggest generator they sell.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Linda Chavez is President of the Center for Equal Opportunity. Her latest book is "Betrayal: How Union Bosses Shake Down Their Members and Corrupt American Politics". (Click HERE to purchase. Sales help fund JWR.)
Linda Chavez Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Christine Flowers
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
A. Barton Hinkle
Jeff Jacoby
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ch. Krauthammer
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Clarence Page
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Greg Schwem
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Lenore Skenazy
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Lisa Benson
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
Matt Davies
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Jack Ohman
Michael Ramirez
Rob Rogers
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Danna Summers
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Dan Wasserman

Tech Q&A
Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|