Iciest Wrath and a Dismal Day of Pennsylvania

A fallen tree in my neighborhood

In my room, pots are for collecting the leaking water from ceiling

The last snow storm dumped more than a foot of snow across Midwest and East Coast of the United States on Tuesday. Then, on Wednesday, thick coating of ice covered all over the place. Early in the morning, I woke up with the sound of drops of water falling on my pillow. I cast a fleeting look at the ceiling, it was leaking and from its corner the water was pouring down. I collected pots and pans from my kitchen to prevent further damage to the floor. Then, I tried to call my landlord, my phone was dead, and there was no power to charge my phone.

I rushed out of the house to get access to power and charge my phone. At the door, not knowing that ice has covered the stairs and the patio, I made a nice slide, but thankfully fell on the snow; otherwise, I might have broken a limb, like many trees that lost their limbs. As I hit the sidewalk, limbs of trees were lying on sidewalks, roads, and backyards of people; I hardly made my way through them. Just around the corner, a huge pine tree was left prostrate as a result of heavy snow on its branches. I took it metaphorically very meaningful: You do not get big, if you do, your fall will be disastrous, just like the demise of empires.

So, finally, after cruising around the blocks to circumvent stepping on torn electric wires and fallen trees, I arrived at the Starbucks. At the door, the sign said: “Due to power outage, we are closed.” Suddenly, a second thought rushed through my head: Why not taking the bus and spend the day at Barns and Noble. In the bus, a woman was sitting in front of me; tears were rushing down her face. Her house was damaged by a fallen tree. I plaintively sympathized with her, to the point that I almost lied that a huge tree has fallen on my house as well and my life is ruined. I took a somber mood and showed it through a doleful look on my face. At one point I almost wanted to take her hands in my hands to calm her. She got off the bus in mid-way, but her sorrow left a tristful feeling in me for the rest of the day, even to this moment.

Anyhow, the Barns & Noble was closed, they didn’t have power either. I spent the whole afternoon at the Giant Store’s café.

What a dismal day I had and probably thousands of others were in a similar situation. This experience reminded me of my village, where electricity, and internet were not involved in our lives and we did not face this much unexpected hassle.