Through experience, we learn. Ishmael learns much about the universe through his journey aboard Ahab’s ill-fated ship, and similarly, through my own much less ill-fated ride along Superstorm Sandy, I, too, have learned. Here are a few lessons I gleaned in Sandy’s wake:

1. I kind of prefer a world with no traffic lights.

Okay, don’t get me wrong, as a student pointed out to me in class, we probably need traffic signals at Five Points – ok, I’ll give you that one. But I have become an increasingly staunch supporter of the four-way stop sign. Each person simply has his or her turn to proceed through the intersection and everyone keeps moving. As long as all drivers approach the intersection with caution, and have some human decency I think this can work. I realize the human decency piece of that equation can be a challenge sometimes, but hey – I look for the best in mankind, what can I say? And oh by the way, Tuesday and Wednesday were the first days in years that traffic was not bottlenecked at that monstrosity of traffic lights at Allentown Rd, Whites Rd. and Valley Forge Roads  – just sayin!

2. For education, we do not need electricity.

Many people were unable to go to work this week due to power outages at their workplace. And of course, it is 2012 so many of these businesses cannot carry on with their daily work without the use of their networked computers. But can we still teach and learn without power – I have decided… absolutely! What’s wrong with studying stoichiometry by candlelight? It might be better, actually! And is it really all that difficult to learn about the Civil War one flashlight battery at a time? Fortunately we still have hard copies of textbooks at North Penn and we do not have to lean on the e-book yet, and as such, I could absolutely hold class in an unheated, dark room – well, actually, many days I do that anyway in third floor K-Pod as I work on my energy saving while the thermostat struggles with itself… but that’s another article. Furthermore, maybe forcing people to hand-write some papers every once in a while is a good thing. Can someone say “cursive writing?!” Yes, maybe if we were forced to learn without electricity, we wouldn’t have to worry about students not knowing how to write in cursive for the PSAT. Oh, and lest we forget – no electricity equals no Schmoop, Sparknotes, or Bookrags – just sayin!

3.  If a tree falls on your house and it’s your neighbor’s, does it make a sound…in your wallet or theirs?

Ok, let me first say that I am very lucky… neither of my neighbors on either side owns a big tree. But I listened to enough KYW Newsradio 1060 this week to hear all about the insurance policies regarding neighbors’ trees. While I do not care to explain all of this here, I will say this – I am guessing that there are a significantly greater number of property line wars going on now than there were a week ago, and if you have  big tree – don’t pay for someone to come out and inspect its safety because if you do you will either A) Pay thousands to get it cut down, or B) Pay thousands when you ignore the tree doctor’s advice and watch it fall into your neighbor’s living room. So, perhaps the best advice is stick to little bonsai plants instead of mighty oaks – just sayin!

4. Generators are heavy, but they are worth every penny – and… my Mom has way too much crap in the basement!

There really is not much more to be said about this new lesson I learned, but thank you Ted and Nate Heller for helping me lift a generator into my truck. That is still easier than 100 trips up the basement steps with a 5 gallon bucket of water per trip. Oh, and I also learned that my mom has way too much stuff in the basement. I mean really – it’s nice that she still has all my matchbox cars and every ridiculous board game that we ever wanted for Christmas and then only played with once (Ex: Tubaruba – really? I wanted that?!), but I do think it’s time for a dumpster or a yard sale. And while I’m on the topic of childhood toys – they sure don’t make ‘em like they used to. I have some awesome cars and trucks in that basement, like a classic 1980s Mobil Gas truck,  made out of some serious metal with serious attention to detail. Enough with the cheap plastic already – just sayin!

5. A 20 minute wait for a cup of coffee at WaWa is definitely worth it.

If I had known that only one WaWa was open, I would have made the coffee at my house and taken it my mom’s electrify-less house. But of course I found out the hard way instead. However, I must admit, it still tastes much better than mine, so the wait was worthwhile. And oh by the way, a one-way ticket to wealth – open up a WaWa where there is no other 7-Eleven, Starbucks, or other WaWa within a 5 mile radius. People and Wawa are like buzzards and road kill  – seriously!