Lost power for 48 hours during that January freeze and it was the best thing to happen to my street

Last January when we had that deep freeze, my block on West 117th lost power for two full days. Everyone was scrambling for generators and space heaters, but the neighbors actually came outside and talked to each other for once. I finally met the guy three houses down who keeps his garage immaculate and the older lady who bakes bread at 5 AM. We shared food, checked on each other's pipes, and someone set up a propane camp stove on the porch for coffee. It was miserable and cold but also the most connected I've felt in five years of living here. Has anyone else had a community moment come out of a bad situation?

2 comments

2 Comments

andrewh431mo ago

That cold snap hit my street too and honestly it was the same deal, people actually came out of their houses and helped each other with pipes and what not. It sucks that it takes something bad to get us talking but that kind of neighborly feeling is hard to beat.

abby_robinson5829d ago

Is it really a good thing that we ONLY come together when something goes wrong though? I mean, if we need a disaster to act like decent humans, maybe the neighborly feeling is more fake than real.