Mississippi has become a 3rd World Nation

In the aftermath of Katrina, most of Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, remains without power- see this article. Some of the gas stations have gas; some have the power necessary to run the pumps; only a few have both. As described here, lines at the few open gas stations are long. As bad as things are in the capital, it is even worse in outlying areas. Some rural areas in central Mississippi will not get electric power back for several months. As I have mentioned in previous posts, if a Mississippian is lucky enough to find an open store or gas station, he better have cash. Credit cards are not usually accepted- see here.
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I feel bad about whining as plenty of people have it worse than me, especially those living to the south of me. But with the destroyed infrastructure, it is becoming increasingly difficult to function as a physician. With the power out, I have no way of doing laundry at home. Today, for the first time, I wore a t-shirt to work instead of a shirt with a collar. I guess I could ask a resident where they keep the scrubs. I run out of underwear and socks on Friday- at that point I will need to wash them in a bucket. Another option is sneaking my laundry into the hospital and using the washer on the psych ward.
I am on call (psychiatry attending call) Thursday. Since phone service is out, I will have to spend the night in the hospital to answer the pages (I am one of the few physicians in the country without a cell phone)
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I have decided that tomorrow (Thursday) I will leave the hospital in the early afternoon to get gas. For anyone that is interested, I will post my adventure tomorrow night.
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That's it for now. Sorry about the whining. Thanks to Dr. Parker for the plug. Read about the situation in Alabama here. Donate to the American Sleep Medicine Foundation Hurricane Disaster Relief Fund here.