Frances

Just spoke with my mother, who lives in in Lake Worth, Florida and has been without electricity, phones or gasoline since Saturday in the wake of Hurricane Frances. Today power outages still affect 2 million homes and businesses -- about a quarter of the state's 16 million people -- and topped a list of concerns as tanker loads of gasoline arrived but could not be pumped because there was no electricity at most gas stations. Out-Of-State Power Crews Return to Fla. [Forbes.com].

She says civilization has not broken down and folks are being generous and civil to each other, for instance in navigating streets when all traffic lights are inoperable. I saw the same phenomenon last year, after a post-hurricane (Isabel) storm felled hundreds of trees in the Washington, D.C. area, knocking out power and blocking roads. Remarkable. But why does it seem to take tragedy or loss to make people behave nice to each other these days?

 Posted by glenn