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Coping FOOD

“The village had come together to act as a village does, a community of help and communication. While I was chatting I heard many offers of places to stay, sharing of food, cash, torches, you name it.”

@wendylnissen

It’s hard to describe the feeling of being completely out of contact. No phones, no internet, no power. Suddenly an off-the-grid lifestyle some people crave and others, like myself, think would be lovely, is foisted upon you.

I was at home in the Far North watching Cyclone Gabrielle blow our trees over and we weren’t even in the worst of the storm. When trees blow over at our place it means many, many more blow over in the area and we will be without power for some time. Then after two days the cell phone towers’ batteries go flat and usually the phone line and internet stops at the same time. Which is exactly what happened.

The practicalities of having no contact with the outside world are doable. We have a generator that my 90-year-old father bought years ago for just such an occasion.

I would sometimes look at it in the garage covered in dust and think it was a waste of money and even if the power was off long enough to use it I doubted it would start. Which it didn’t. But that’s where having a 90-year-old dad

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