We Are Unprepared-Meg Little-Reilly Blog post 2 Kari Williams

The first presentation introduced main characters that move to Isole, Vermont in the hopes of new marriage opportunities. What develops shortly after is the devastating result of a Superstorm ending the marriage of Ash and Pia. August, the 7-year-old neighbor survives the storm in the care of Ash. The storm begins as Rodney Riggins comes into town. Riggins self-identifies as a man of God but develops characteristics of his crowd. He also has a share in a company that manufactures emergency preparation kits which he will remind the crowd after his vaguely Judeo-Christian, bible-free sermon.The town divides when city council meeting votes not to host Riggins in Isole. Ash is driving into town and comes upon a protest led by Crazy Roger, the man who shot a gun at the previous community meeting. 

Ash has an accident with a snow blower in his drive way and breaks his foot! He is transported to the hospital; not by Pia, who decided to go back to her home state to do prepper things, but by a teenage stranger. He gets to the hospital and mended but after the doctor asks how Ash will get home, he breaks down realizing he has nobody to call. The doctor says he call his daughter, Maggie Chase, to bring Ash home. 

Maggie is a confident, educated woman who loves her dog, Badger. She is a high school math teacher and coaches a ski-team. Ash develops a crush on her early on. At the Isole festival they get very close and Pia notices. 

There’s so much to this story, I could go on. During this Ash and Peg develop a subcommittee with Salty. There is a run-off plan in place but it cuts through Crow’s back yard. (Crow is Pia’s prepper friend). Ash and Peg go to ask him for his permission to do this and the conversation leads to Crow’s prepper shed. It’s cool. (More about that in the prezzie.) 

The storm with Ash’s wife develops as storm starts to devastate outside. August returns to the care of Ash during this storm because his dad has an accident. During the storm Ash saves August’s life. The house begins to flood after the blizzard. Ash gets a canoe and rows them to a tank that leaves them in a shelter. Pia decides to stay behind. The storm stops but it takes weeks to see her again, who barely survived. Crow’s ex-wife dies. She and her daughter asked to meet Crow at his shelter. He tells her there is not enough room for three, including their daughter, but later changes his mind. They plan to meet at White River junction but when Crow arrived at the meeting spot the daughter was injured and the ex-wife was killed by a tree hitting the truck. Many people died. There’s a lot to this story, you guys should come to class  and see this presentation. The ending is really good. Ladies, read this book. It’s not like 50-Shades-of -Grey sexy, but it’s implied. ;) 

 My book wasn't dystopian in the beginning, but in the conclusion humanity must rebuild from the devastation of the Super Storm. The survivors Ash, August and Maggie are in fact, happier in the end. It reminds us about nature's resilience and gives me a vote of confidence. Klein's book motivates me to become environmentally active in relation to politics and helps me to feel like things could change for the better, even though our current administration deregulates most of our environmental policies. McKibben's book makes me want to be a native Vermonter because the sense of community Sylvia describes is something to be admired. I would attend a community meeting to discuss the betterment of the community if offered. 

I commented on (2) posts: Wall-E and Interstellar! "This movie has a really great plot twist, it brings you to tears. Cooper really regrets his decision after he finally discovers himself as the one sending his daughter the message "Stay." The audience knows if had stayed his daughter Murphy, he would have seen her grow up. I like the idea of his message transcending time in space to be delivered, its a very amazing concept. In the end, Dr. Brand could have went by herself and inhabited a planet. She sort of does everything eventually, and she's just a good a pilot as her male counter-part. Really, his emotions sort of bother his character too much but because Dr. Brand has no one to come home to, she makes this project her #1 goal and finishes the movie out. Cooper wanted to be home the whole time, he really shouldn't have left his family to the responsibility of a dying grand-father. When his son grows up, they lose contact. Cooper, in my opinion, does not save humanity' (Interstellar)

"Maybe this is why most millennials decide to minimize their home space, some people recognize their waste and decide to be more efficient. Matt D'avella, an independent filmmaker takes some time to explain what minimalists do not do: spend a lot of time picking out an outfit (this is called a capsule wardrobe); spending intent time with social media, spending time on doing the things you really WANT to do, prepare for the day by making lists: to do, to buy, alarms, ect. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tG2GJZcBKOE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkRooRaR2yk tips on how to begin your decluttering journey! baby steps on how to improve. Write down the reasons you want to incorporate minimalism in your life and go through your closet. Box your clothes up! What ever you don't take out of the box in a specified amount of time, donate it to charity! There's a lot of tricks to try!" (Wall-E)

1. Who is the evangelist who splits the Town of Isole?
2. What does Crow show to Peg and Ash?
3. How does Ash save August?
4. What happened to August’s dad?
5. What is the name of Maggie’s dog?
6. What happened to Crow’s ex-wife?