State of Emergency
The Governor has declared a State of Emergency for East Multnomah County which includes Wood Village where I live. This is due to the inability of fire and police to get to incidents as the roads are impassable. The SOE means the National Guard will come to the rescue (drum roll).
All the jammed up people are getting more and more irritated. ODOT and the OSP opened Interstate 84 through the Gorge and over 400 semi trucks that were idling a mile from my house are now on their way to destinations eastward. If you were missing your pineapple from Hawaii or your tomato from California, they are now on their way to a store near you. Passenger cars jockeyed with the trucks scrambling to get on the road after a wait since last Saturday when the road was closed to all travel. Chains are still required.
Travelers at the airport are not faring so well. There is some kind of reverse domino effect that puts the first people to get bumped last in line. If you have a ticket for a flight that will take off at noon today, you will go. If you had a ticket for that same flight for last Saturday, or Sunday, or Monday, move to the back of the line. If the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday flights are full, you will not be able to rebook until next Saturday. Which means you won’t be home for Christmas. And possibly not for New Year’s Eve. And if you checked your luggage before the shutdown, you might as well kiss it goodbye.
So at The Hideaway there is no mail or newspaper delivery. No UPS, or Fed Ex, or DHL. So there is an element of isolation. I walked to Walmart for dog food and was surprised to see the store full of holiday shoppers. On the way, I noted a RotoRooter van ass end up in the ditch. I am grateful to not be the one waiting for him.
Since I have already had my Christmas celebration with my family, I can just kick back and wait this one out. I guess I will miss Christmas Eve Midnight Mass (which is now held at 5:00 p.m. in many churches). I don’t need to be back at work until January 6th which happens to be Twelfth Night. Official end of the holiday season.
More snow tomorrow and on Christmas. Keep watching this space for updates on how the Green City deals with the white stuff.
All the jammed up people are getting more and more irritated. ODOT and the OSP opened Interstate 84 through the Gorge and over 400 semi trucks that were idling a mile from my house are now on their way to destinations eastward. If you were missing your pineapple from Hawaii or your tomato from California, they are now on their way to a store near you. Passenger cars jockeyed with the trucks scrambling to get on the road after a wait since last Saturday when the road was closed to all travel. Chains are still required.
Travelers at the airport are not faring so well. There is some kind of reverse domino effect that puts the first people to get bumped last in line. If you have a ticket for a flight that will take off at noon today, you will go. If you had a ticket for that same flight for last Saturday, or Sunday, or Monday, move to the back of the line. If the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday flights are full, you will not be able to rebook until next Saturday. Which means you won’t be home for Christmas. And possibly not for New Year’s Eve. And if you checked your luggage before the shutdown, you might as well kiss it goodbye.
So at The Hideaway there is no mail or newspaper delivery. No UPS, or Fed Ex, or DHL. So there is an element of isolation. I walked to Walmart for dog food and was surprised to see the store full of holiday shoppers. On the way, I noted a RotoRooter van ass end up in the ditch. I am grateful to not be the one waiting for him.
Since I have already had my Christmas celebration with my family, I can just kick back and wait this one out. I guess I will miss Christmas Eve Midnight Mass (which is now held at 5:00 p.m. in many churches). I don’t need to be back at work until January 6th which happens to be Twelfth Night. Official end of the holiday season.
More snow tomorrow and on Christmas. Keep watching this space for updates on how the Green City deals with the white stuff.
posted by Free Spirit at 12:57 PM
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