It's New England, love it or leave it

[Morgen Thiboult]

Last week's ice storm was certainly historic, but not necessarily surprising (at least not for this Granite Stater). Sure, I didn't lose power for 5 or 6 days like some of my coworkers and family, but I think if you grow up in New England you sort of just have to expect the worst from winter. And heck, winter technically hasn't even started yet. Snow, ice, sleet, it's just all part of the culture and geography, so why are we so surprised every year by the weather?

What about you? Do you think people over reacted about the ice storm or the amount of snow/inclement weather already fallen? Do you think it was a good lesson to have a back up plan or generator? Or are you ready to move south?

[Monika McGillicuddy]

I was without power for 8 cold days. The lesson I learned was to have a plan in place and a stash of items like wet ones,batteries,dry food and water for flushing and for drinking. I've already restocked just in case.

[Ernesto Burden]

I agree we should expect fickle and foul weather here in New England -- but the scope of the ice storm and power outages was unprecedented, so I don't figure people overstated its significance. I do think it provided a good lesson about preparedness for those folks who can afford a generator, backup plan, etc. But I wonder how families living paycheck to paycheck can afford to make a capital investment in a generator and wiring for what might be a once in a decade, or even once in a century kind storm? I heard a lot of folks after the storm saying that people should have better prioritized their purchasing decisions and invested in a generator before the storm. Those sorts of comments seemed a bit smug to me. I don't think that's a practical option for everyone. (We live in town, and I don't have a generator and don't plan to buy one. Though on the other hand, we do have a wood stove and a fireplace, so that probably affects my choice to some degree.)

[Robert]

Hi well i did loose power for several days. I admit i was not really prepared for it. In the future i will prepare ahead of time. I want to give shout out to the electrical workers who repaired the lines on my street they were from Michigan.
Thanks guy's