Unexpected Blackout
You don’t realize how much you rely on power until it is gone
The lights went out last night.
There was a pretty bad storm. The wind blew hard and we heard from the news prior to the blackout that there were possible tornadoes in the area. Scary stuff. Oddly enough this was the day my brother-in-law wanted to stop by and see mom and dad. Not really the best day to visit, as it turned out.
You don’t realize all the things that use power until it is gone.
No television, internet or wifi or information in general to keep us updated on the storm.
No air conditioning on one of the hottest days of the year. (It was pretty humid too. Not good for parents with COPD)
No telephones (at least of the wireless kind) Only the landline worked. And I just snagged the phone number of my brother-in-law with the last bit of juice in one phone with Caller ID. Without power to the base unit, the phones were useless.
The radio was of no help either since it was basically canned music with no staff on site. (Both local radio stations) No live minute to minute updates on the progress of the storm or how soon we might get our power back.
None of us have what I would deem a “real” smart phone. So using that for info was out too.
It was all just a little frustrating.
We spent our evening out on the porch watching moths commit harry-carry by dive-bombing our candles. The only sound on the block was the drone of a very loud generator belonging to one of our neighbors. I went to bed early but had a hard time getting to sleep. Too much on my mind apparently. But rest did come.
Needless to say, there is not a lot you can do without power. It makes the night seem very long. People with insomnia have an even tougher time dealing with things. Too much time to think about things and not a lot to do to occupy your time.
So, I say all this to say that we are really thankful for the power we do have every day. It makes all our lives easier. And to all the crews who spent their evening braving the storm and getting our power back by 5:15 am THANK YOU!
2 comments:
I'm kinda frightened to think, what would happen if Chicago had to experience a blackout and as Mainers had to endure during The Ice-Storm of 19998. And i must say we endured with
Compassion and a little good ole fashion Yankee ingenuity. We used car batteries for the radios,or some at least had one of those old weather radiios the Mariners use. Then there were one or two radio stations and only one operating in a one hundred mile radius. People were calling in on their rotary Phone's to the radio station, The Voice of Maine, WVOM, Bangor, ME. People would call from all over the state and the announcers would put their calls on the air live. One man would call and say," I live in lagrange and I got trees on my roof, my wife and kids got no where to go". Before long another call would come in and the man would say, " I'm from Lagrange and I'm a certified tree removal company owner"Next the guys of the radio station that we're in the background connecting neighbors. It was an amazing time. Everyone in theState pulling together. Persolly I woke up with a hangover and no water. So I went to the local Community Center/Emergency Shelter. The Police department was within spitting distance. The police and firemen fed us out of their own pockets. In those next few nights and days everyone who could did. And them that couldnt we're well taken care of by them who could. Thanks for the walk down memory lane Toni.
Barbara Wright
I apologise for the misspellings
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