Vol. 19 No. 03 | January 16, 2017
Our water pipes are frozen this morning. The representative at the water department called it an emergency. But, is it? I mean, is it really an emergency?
We cannot shower, the small trickle of water coming out of the spout made it difficult for us to even brush our teeth. And, it is inconvenient.
It is inconvenient, but is it an emergency?
We may be late for church or not make it at all, but is this an emergency?
We have enough bottled water and a variety of other drinks to survive. We have enough food to last for days. If necessary, we can get in either one of our two vehicles and drive a few blocks to any one of several stores to get anything we need. Or, we can bundle up in any of our countless number of sweaters, coats, gloves, hats, shoes, and boots and walk a block or two to those stores.
If we must take a shower, we can call any number of friends and drive to their houses to use their showers. Or, we could walk a few steps to one of our neighbors’ places.
I set up the coffee maker before going to bed, so hot coffee will be had by all first thing in the morning.
The house is warm. In fact, it is so warm, I don’t even need the last layer of clothing I put on in preparation for the emergency. There is nothing stopping me from just crawling back into bed and waiting for the pipes to thaw.
I hear the automated system ask, “If this an emergency, please press ‘1’.
Emergency? Is this really an emergency?
There are probably hundreds of people sleeping (or trying to sleep) outside in this 9 degree weather, possibly even under the patch of trees located a hundred yards or so from our house….our house with the frozen water pipes.
As the sun warms the earth to a blistering 30 degrees, there will be men and women standing in the intersections, selling their papers and hoping those with generous hearts will give them an extra dollar or two.
There are children in our city who went to bed hungry and cold last night and will go to bed hungry and cold again tonight.
According to last year’s statistics, over half a million people are living on the streets, and nearly two million kids will experience a period of homelessness this year.
When the representative finally answered the phone, she assured me, “An emergency technician will be with you as soon as possible. Please be patient, due to the extreme weather conditions, we are experiencing a large number of emergencies, please wait patiently until the next representative can assist you. We appreciate your patience.” I wait, impatiently, constantly looking out the window, hoping help will come soon.
After a while, we got a hold of a local plumber, and he quickly came, fixed the broken pipe, received his payment, and left.
Emergency averted.
Or was it ever really an emergency?
Tom
A Norvell Note © Copyright 2017. Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved.