Storm coming

Wanted to go clamming today before the DEP closes the beds for God knows how long, but we got work to do to get ready for Sandy. If she's even half as ferocious as she threatens to be,  the prepping will be as useless as tits on a bullfrog, but it gives nervous hands something to do while we wait.

North Wildwood, 1962 storm. Press of Atlantic City

Should she hit, or the earth shake, or the sun flare, or the magma erupt, you can either be useful, or not.

When calamities happen, and they will, work needs to be done.

Care for the wounded, clean up the rubble, solve the hundreds of small problems you will face as they come up. The needs become obvious quickly--decent water, shelter, and (eventually) food. Waste has to go somewhere. Some sort of order needs to be maintained through the chaos.

A guitar or a harmonica can help, too.

Life becomes very public, and culture defines who will thrive, and who will not. Problem solving at the local level trumps the Arne's false security of "an educated, skilled workforce that can compete in a global economy".

After the storm blows through, when what you can do matters to the people you live with, what kinds of skills matter?

If any decent thing comes out of a mother of a storm like this one promises to be, it's this much: it helps remind us what matters, at least for those who care to be reminded.