Weather Woes

As I stare outside my window here in NYC, another miserably wet (and cold!) day coming to an end, I'm thinking about my mom down in Miami. Hurricane Wilma ripped South Florida apart, left nearly 2 million people without power -- some won't get it back for 4 WEEKS! Can you imagine being without electricity for that long? Think about what that means -- no TV, no refrigerated food, no microwave, no TV, no radio, no computer, no ATM [which means no food, gas or water since without electricity most stores can't use their credit card machines so its cash only], no AC, no lights ...!! This has been an unbelievable year, one that really spotlights how woefully unprepared the world's most powerful and advanced country is for a temper tantrum by Mother Nature. If Hurricane Katrina didn't prove it, Wilma certainly has.
Or .. at least it would to those few people who actually know how bad it is in South Florida. If you're watching the major cable networks, its been buried the past 2 days beneath coverage of the Nor'easter dumping a couple inches of rain and gusting winds across the Northeast. Hey, I live in Manhattan, I'm seeing it firsthand, I know we're having miserable weather. But a major American region is thisclose to an emergency crisis, while not as bad as New Orleans after Katrina, but still much worse than many think, and a lot worse than the rain we're experiencing. We all learned during Katrina how important it is for the media not to get distracted by the story of the day, when a bigger picture item is still unfolding. Unfortunately, news stations and networks are run by the ADD generation, so its become a greater challenge to keep the media's eye on the ball, so to speak. Hopefully, for my family, friends and everyone else down in South Florida, that challenge will be met.