The Long View of Power

John Maruca has spent most of his adult life thinking several steps ahead.

As a teacher, that instinct was necessary. Eighteen years in a classroom with five-year-olds will teach you quickly that nothing works without preparation. Lessons need structure. Materials need backups. Downtime invites chaos. “Preparation and planning are key for success and happiness,” John says, describing a mindset he applies far beyond school. “I tend to look at it as a flow chart. Plan, prepare, do, and reflect.”

Today, John teaches elementary physical education virtually for Florida Virtual School, a role that has transformed not only his schedule but his relationship with home, time, and the systems that support daily life. Teaching from Mulberry, Florida, where hurricanes are not abstract possibilities but seasonal realities, has made reliability more than a professional value. It has become personal.

A House That Teaches You Back

The shift to virtual teaching was a lifestyle jolt. John went from walking thousands of steps a day to sitting in front of screens, trading hallways for bandwidth. “It’s been a complete life and lifestyle change,” he says. “I went from being on my feet all day to sitting in a chair most of the day.”

Working from home sharpened his awareness of infrastructure—the internet, electricity, cooling, and refrigeration. Everything that used to fade into the background became visible. Florida’s storms only amplified that awareness. Over the past decade, John has experienced outages that lasted nearly a week. “You realize very quickly what works and what doesn’t,” he says.

At first, his solutions were limited: small UPS backups for computers, extension cords, dry goods, and trips to crowded grocery stores before storms. It worked, barely. But it wasn’t scalable.

Finding a System, Not a Gadget

John discovered Jackery the way many methodical people do: by researching obsessively. “I found Jackery on YouTube,” he says. “I was searching for in-home and portable battery backup systems.”

His first purchase was the Jackery 1000. It could keep a mini refrigerator running, charge phones, and support essential devices. It wasn’t transformative on its own—but it shifted his thinking. “I realized quickly that a Jackery 1000 is only going to power a regular refrigerator for a few hours,” he says. “So I knew I needed to build up.”

Over time, his setup grew into a layered system: smaller units like the Jackery 100 Plus and 240 Plus for daily charging and travel, the 1000 for camping and internet, and eventually the Jackery 5000 Plus paired with SolarSaga 500X panels for prolonged outages.

Each purchase was incremental, intentional. “You don’t have to have everything all at once,” John says. “Just start small.”

When the Power Stays On

Hurricanes don’t announce themselves politely. But Florida’s forecasting gives residents a window, seven to ten days, sometimes, to prepare. John uses that time deliberately. Supplies are staged. Devices are topped off. Solar panels are positioned in the backyard, out of sight but ready.

During past storms, even before upgrading to the 5000 Plus, John relied on his Jackery units to keep refrigeration going, devices charged, and the internet alive. “Here in Florida, you can lose power but still have internet,” he explains. “So as long as I can keep my internet box powered, I can still have internet.”

That detail matters. News updates. Weather alerts. Communication. And for a household with a teenager, normalcy. “I told my son, ‘You’ve got five devices here. Prioritize. You’re gonna have to pick one.’”

Now, with the 5000 Plus, those decisions feel less urgent. Testing the system himself, John unplugged his refrigerator and watched the readout climb into days. “It had enough power for three or four days without even connecting to solar,” he says.

A Campsite, Reimagined

John’s relationship with power isn’t limited to emergencies. Camping, once a childhood memory from the Catskill Mountains, has re-entered his life with new meaning.

As a child, camping meant bare essentials—sandwiches, fossil hunting, hard-smelling water. As an adult, it’s about balance. “It’s night and day,” he says, comparing past and present.

Today, his Toyota 4Runner carries a rooftop tent, awnings, and carefully chosen equipment. On trips, the Jackery 1000 powers a mini refrigerator and a Starlink mini dish, keeping food cold and connections open. Smaller units travel into the tent at night, running phones and a small fan. “You can’t forget about your fan,” John says, laughing.

Sometimes, even when campsites offer hookups, he chooses to rely on his own system. “I just like to see what my products can do without relying on someone else’s power.”

Teaching, Outdoors

John’s tools often spark conversations. The bright orange units are hard to miss. Campers stop to ask questions. Neighbors inquire. He explains the setup patiently, always advising one thing: buy direct.

“If a company and products do me right, I’m going to stick with them,” he says. Loyalty, for John, is earned through performance and consistency, not marketing.

That same ethos carries into his teaching. Preparation isn’t fear-driven; it’s enabling. The goal isn’t to anticipate disaster but to remove friction when conditions change.

The Next Upgrade

John already has his eye on what’s next: a transfer switch to connect the Jackery 5000 Plus directly to his breaker box. The vision is simple: fewer cables, cleaner integration, faster transitions.

“Eventually, I’d like to add another backup battery or two,” he says. “That way I could run the air conditioner at night.”

It’s not about excess. It’s about adaptability. A system that grows as needs evolve.

Power as Practice

Asked to describe what Jackery means to him in one sentence, John doesn’t hesitate: “It’s an amazing partner to help keep my family sustained and prepared for emergencies, and to enhance the outdoor experience.”

In three words, he chooses carefully: “Dependable. Reliable. Quality.”

For a teacher who lives by planning, preparation, and reflection, power isn’t just electricity. It’s a practice, something you build over time, test thoughtfully, and rely on when it matters.