Toads-in-the-Hole

Remember back in 2001 when the state of California was facing an energy crisis? This cartoon appeared in the New Yorker's February 19th, 2001 issue, lampooning John Steinbeck's 1939 portrayal of the Joad family and their escape from desolate Dust Bowl Oklahoma to California's fertile promised land.

This week, South Dakota, in a showdown with Old Man Winter, faced cold temperatures and fierce winds that blew across the prairie, iced over roadways, drifted snow into foot-high banks, and made the going treacherous. All week long, schools, universities, and workplaces have been closed as many homes and businesses have lost power.

Still, nobody's talked of leaving for greener pastures.

Without heat sources, without running water, and without everyday conveniences, life on the prairie is beginning to mirror the experiences of our nineteenth-century pioneer forebearers. Solid German and Scandinavian stoicism in the face of high winds, icicles, and snowflakes are virtues out here. Without complaint, we've all bundled up, snuggled in, trying to make the best of a situation that defeated Per Hansa and forced the Ingalls family to move to the safety of the big city (De Smet, South Dakota).

Well, I say, we all, but really don't mean Joel and I ... We've been snug and warm in our little house all week, discomforted only by rescheduled exams, end-of-term, early morning clinicals in Sioux Falls, and burnt toast.