The power of the grapevine
I have been chuckling to myself this morning regarding the influence of a good story and how fast and wild it can spread.
Good fortune awoke me at 6:15 and I realized the power was out -- which explained why Sam wasn't up yet. So, I quickly woke her up and she took a shower by candlelight. When I looked out my kitchen window, I could see that it was dark all the way to the center of town, but couldn't tell how far north or south it went. This meant that it was possible many people wouldn't wake up on time, and probable that the school busses would not come on time. Thanks to our fabulous internet phone service, however, there was no way to call anyone to verify. I knew Sam would be having a panic attack if she was late to the first official day of high school so Lee went to work VERY early to make sure she got there. And despite the candles and ban on opening the fridge, everyone else got out the door just fine. And the busses did come.
As I walked with the kids to and from the elementary school, people shared what they knew about what was happening: There was a huge accident at a nearby intersection and there were emergency vehicles EVERYWHERE. One friend had been told by someone that there were bodies on the road when they drove past this morning. Another person had been told that 7 power lines were down and it would be noon tomorrow before we had power again. Power was out to the entire southeast part of the city. They were still holding school because all the rooms had windows.
This hearsay helped assure me that the big kids would have power and I therefore wouldn't have to pick them up if school was cancelled. It also made me worry about the horror that must have taken place with so many vehicles (and strewn bodies) involved in an accident so early in the morning. I wondered if I should go buy ice for the contents of my freezer to last that long.
In my car, I heard the news tell a much simpler story and I caught a glimpse of the mess when I went to and from the chiropractor this morning. I passed a flatbed carrying what were obviously new power poles and came home to a house with lights on everywhere and a garage door that didn't have to be opened manually. It was 10:15am. The news on my computer verified the news on the radio and I was relieved to hear that there was only one vehicle and one person involved in the wreck. The part about the power poles was probably mostly right and the power was restored much sooner than expected.
The news story is at: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=12139168&hl=2
Then I contemplated how powerful information can be...like those spam emails warning us about government scandals that turn out to be untrue; or when ambulances are spotted in your neighborhood and everyone shares what they know. It's not even that people are intending to be deceptive or gossipy. We all think we know what we know and are happy to help others by sharing it. It's because of a general concern for the welfare of others that we pass the information along. However, my experience this morning (because I passed along what I heard, too) reminded me how careful we need to be. This rumormill was not necessarily harmful to anyone. But other times we won't be so lucky. It was a reminder to me that next time I need to remember just to eat the grapes -- not share them with others.
Good fortune awoke me at 6:15 and I realized the power was out -- which explained why Sam wasn't up yet. So, I quickly woke her up and she took a shower by candlelight. When I looked out my kitchen window, I could see that it was dark all the way to the center of town, but couldn't tell how far north or south it went. This meant that it was possible many people wouldn't wake up on time, and probable that the school busses would not come on time. Thanks to our fabulous internet phone service, however, there was no way to call anyone to verify. I knew Sam would be having a panic attack if she was late to the first official day of high school so Lee went to work VERY early to make sure she got there. And despite the candles and ban on opening the fridge, everyone else got out the door just fine. And the busses did come.
As I walked with the kids to and from the elementary school, people shared what they knew about what was happening: There was a huge accident at a nearby intersection and there were emergency vehicles EVERYWHERE. One friend had been told by someone that there were bodies on the road when they drove past this morning. Another person had been told that 7 power lines were down and it would be noon tomorrow before we had power again. Power was out to the entire southeast part of the city. They were still holding school because all the rooms had windows.
This hearsay helped assure me that the big kids would have power and I therefore wouldn't have to pick them up if school was cancelled. It also made me worry about the horror that must have taken place with so many vehicles (and strewn bodies) involved in an accident so early in the morning. I wondered if I should go buy ice for the contents of my freezer to last that long.
In my car, I heard the news tell a much simpler story and I caught a glimpse of the mess when I went to and from the chiropractor this morning. I passed a flatbed carrying what were obviously new power poles and came home to a house with lights on everywhere and a garage door that didn't have to be opened manually. It was 10:15am. The news on my computer verified the news on the radio and I was relieved to hear that there was only one vehicle and one person involved in the wreck. The part about the power poles was probably mostly right and the power was restored much sooner than expected.
The news story is at: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=12139168&hl=2
Then I contemplated how powerful information can be...like those spam emails warning us about government scandals that turn out to be untrue; or when ambulances are spotted in your neighborhood and everyone shares what they know. It's not even that people are intending to be deceptive or gossipy. We all think we know what we know and are happy to help others by sharing it. It's because of a general concern for the welfare of others that we pass the information along. However, my experience this morning (because I passed along what I heard, too) reminded me how careful we need to be. This rumormill was not necessarily harmful to anyone. But other times we won't be so lucky. It was a reminder to me that next time I need to remember just to eat the grapes -- not share them with others.
I had some of the same thoughts after we talked this morning and then meeting different people on our walk home. It's like taking a bunch of puzzle pieces and trying to figure out which ones actually go to the puzzle you're trying to put together. I called Greg at work to have him look up the story for me so I knew what was fact and what was fiction. He was in a meeting, so I never did hear from him about it and now I can look it up for myself. Thanks for posting the link so I don't have to find it. At least it was an interesting morning!
ReplyDeleteI wondered what happened. Thanks for the post and the insightful "lessons" you shared.
ReplyDeleteYou make a great point, Lisa.
ReplyDelete