I heard the plow truck this morning!  Then they stopped and cleared out the snow they piled in my driveway…. They never do that.  But since they did, and I had already cleared the drive myself with the snow blower, I took the opportunity to go to the township offices and catch up and see what was going on.

Apparently Darlene ordered the plow truck to clear my road, just for me, so I could get into town.  Glad she did, she sure needed the help, and obviously couldn’t call me since the cellphones aren’t working.  There was another town meeting scheduled for noon and I made it there by 11:00am, plenty of time to get brought up to speed on the weekend events.

It seems that a few of the folk are upset over the gas situation, and the lack of food at Fram’s store.  Guess I should make that a LOT of upset folks.  I was not happy to see Vinnie pacing at the back of the seating area, but I was very relieved to see Carolyn in front.  Vinnie is the type that paces working up his steam to lash out.

After the Pledge, Darlene opened the meeting to public comment…. And all hell broke loose.  I’ll give her credit, Darlene literally stood up and told Vinnie to shut up for a minute, or Donna would escort him out.  I hadn’t noticed Donna and Paul standing on either side of the room; our new police force on the job.  I just had to grin. It was well worded; Vince would be shamed by Donna ejecting him.  It’s that macho thing; but he would have been ok with Paul doing it.  Anyway, Darlene reminded the audience that all who wanted to speak would have their turn, but as always, they were limited to three minutes.  At which point I pulled a timer out of my pocket and set it on the table in front of me.  All eyes went to that small device; there’s no arguing with a machine.

“Now, Vince, what is it you want to say?” Darlene again did right by giving Vinnie the first spot.

“First, what’s she doing here?” he glared at me.

“Deborah? Well, Vincent, you should remember that she’s the Emergency Manager,” her voice was almost syrupy, and I knew what was coming.  “After all, you were the one who appointed her eight years ago, and authorized all the classes she needed. And since we are deep in an emergency,” her voice suddenly got very steely, “She’s been activated and is my second in command.  You have some objection?”  This was something we had discussed prior to the meeting, that Darlene should be in front, not me, especially when public.

“I guess not,” he mumbled.  “Anyway, why can’t we get any gas? When will the power be back on? Where has all the food gone?  If it weren’t for Carolyn, we’d all be hungry!” Many of the audience shouted in agreement, and Darlene hit her gavel on the table for order.

I rose slowly, trying to keep my composure.  Are they really that stupid?  I said nothing for a few minutes; the room came to a quiet stillness.

“I have a question for you, Vinnie”, as I looked him in the eye, “what do you need the gas for?  Your car? The 4-wheeler in the drive? A generator?  The township needs that gas for the fire truck to put out the fire next to your house so your house doesn’t burn down.  The township needs that gas for the EMS to get your sorry ass to the hospital when you have a heart-attack. The township needs that gas for the generator to run the pumps that keep water coming to your faucet.”  I took a short breath. “We just don’t know when or even IF we will get another gas delivery!  Don’t you understand that??” my frustration was starting to boil over.  “ And power? I’m assuming you’re referring to the electricity that comes from Wisconsin… you remember Wisconsin, one of the states affected by the two massive earthquakes that has taken this country to its knees?” I knew my voice was rising in pitch, but I couldn’t stop myself.  “I talked with Emergency Management in the county seat just a few days ago … before we all lost cellphone service… and was told we were SOL… we are too small to be of a concern to the government; our power stays in a bigger city; we are on our own.  You hear me?  ON OUR OWN!”  I let that sink in a minute.  “I tell you what, Vince, and everyone here,” as I swept my arm across the audience, “…. I will allot anyone who wants it, 5 gallons of gas to get into town… BUT… you can’t come back.”