Friends in the Strangest Places …

I live in Central Pennsylvania and experienced a glancing visit from Hurricane Irene this past weekend. I am now beginning my second day with no electricity at my house and am writing this blog from a coffee shop outside the non-powered area. It could have been much worse; this area suffered slight water damage and most of the power outages were the results of downed trees, pulling wires with them.
But the most amazing thing is happening—people are leaving their homes and sharing with their close as well as not-so-close neighbors. They are sharing stories, words of encouragement, and provisions. Leaving my neighborhood, I saw folks who, before Irene, would bicker over property lines … now working side-by-side, picking up debris and branches; really working together. In the coffee shop, people from different social backgrounds are sitting together sharing their stories on how they managed the storm.
Writing in this coffee shop is definitely out of my normal schedule; I should keep my time here short so I can get back home with more ice to save what’s in the freezer. But there are also reasons I need to stop writing … I have new friends to meet and support to offer.
Maybe having Irene stroll by Central PA had a few advantages after all.