FEMA! Bring hairdryers!

I've spent three straight days on the air assisting in getting information out in the wake of the Springfield Illinois tornados. People here are trying to get on with their lives. Residents are helping one another. It seems there is free coffee & food on every corner. The Hotels are completely booked - there isn't a single vacancy. These are people who can't live without electricity. Maybe the Hotel refugees just miss cable TV. If I can't watch the S.I.U. game Friday - I'm going to drive the neighborhood looking for a satellite dish.

Bright side: Firewood here will cost 10 cents a cord this Winter. Bright side: Some people who wanted massive home renovations - will now get them - paid for by their insurance companies. Bright side: All the ugly retail signs that have been a blight on Wabash Ave for 30 years are now gone. Bright side: WDBR's broadcast tower fell down. (My fingers just typed that - I don't really feel that way.)

Guilt. I have guilt because my capitalist brain is swimming with ways to profit from this disaster. "Bri's Generator Hut". We'd sell nothing but gas powered electric generators. I could name my price. "Bri's Chainsaw World". Same deal. How about a new product? "The Power Outage Beauty Kit". Inside you'd find all a woman needed to get ready for work during a power failure. The heart of the kit would be a 12 volt DC hairdryer. I've come to realize - what women miss most about electricity is not being able to dry their hair. More Guilt: After the storm passed and I came out from my hole/bunker - I was upset that I lost a vinyl patio chair cover. I sulked for about an hour until I came upon it in the middle of the road about a half mile away. I slammed on the brakes and retrieved it. My net storm loss is - nothing but sleep.

I will continue to assist my community through my broadcasts, look at the bright side, feel guilty, consider profiting from others loss - and whine about the cable being off - at least until the S.I.U. game Friday. Just in case - got a dish???