On the bright side

Although this week my thoughts have mainly revolved around those affected by the fires and the power shutoffs, I’ve also been reminded that disasters often have at least one bright side: They bring people together in a way few things can.

These days I live a few blocks below Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City. Our neighborhood seems pretty safe from both wildfires and flooding, and doesn’t seem prone to Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events. I have friends up in the hills who aren’t so lucky, however. Their power was off for five days.

On Monday, my wife and I decided to enjoy the comfortable temperatures and relatively clear air by walking through the foothills west of our house. As we walked up Oak Knoll Drive, I heard an unfamiliar sound, one I tried to dismiss as coming from a leaf blower. It quickly became apparent, however, that what I was hearing were gasoline-powered generators. On our 2-mile walk, I probably heard a dozen of them, all providing power to homes up and down the hills.

Our friends who endured the five-day outage live high up in Emerald Lake Hills, and they too have a generator. Once it became apparent that the power shutoff was not going to be a short one, they fired up the generator and plugged in both their refrigerator and their freezer. Soon their neighbors, realizing that our friends had a way to keep food cold, began to drop by, inquiring if there might be any space available? As one would hope, our friends made room in their freezer and even plugged in a second fridge, doing what they could to help accommodate their neighbors.

The sound of generators is a sound I hope not to be hearing again soon, given that it means that people are without power. But generators weren’t the only thing bringing people together. Usually as I walk through the hills I rarely see anyone else. This week, though, was different. My wife and I came across people sitting in front of their houses, enjoying the sunshine and chatting with neighbors and passersby. Given that many were having to endure days without power I expected them to be somewhat grumpy, but they weren’t, really. What they were was eager to chat. Seemingly the first question everyone asked was “do you have power?” and we somewhat guiltily admitted that we did. But that question was about more than just power; it was an invitation to get to know someone who up until then had been a total stranger. We ended up having a delightful chat.

As the week progressed, I noticed that this willingness to talk wasn’t limited to areas where the power was out. For instance, in our grocery stores — which were extra busy, of course — people seemed eager to swap stories. This wasn’t just the idle chit-chat that one makes with the checkout clerk; people were talking about more meaningful issues, issues that truly affected their lives. Once upon a time, stores were a key place where people exchanged information, both with the shopkeeper and with one another, perhaps around a cracker barrel. I find it interesting that, however briefly, people seem to be doing so once again, and truly wish it could continue.

I wouldn’t wish a fire, flood or even a major power outage on anyone, and I’d never suggest that we must put up with them simply for the sake of bringing us all a little closer together. The events up and down the state of California over the last week have been truly horrible for those directly affected. However, when things like this happen, I marvel at how people step forward to help one another, and how a real sense of community begins to form. Even when the events are relatively small, such as with a lengthy power outage, people turn their focus on what is truly important — one another. Now if we could just maintain that focus when we aren’t under threat.

Greg Wilson is the creator of Walking Redwood City, a blog inspired by his walks throughout Redwood City and adjacent communities. He can be reached at greg@walkingRedwoodCity.com. Follow Greg on Twitter @walkingRWC.