Powerless

Just when I thought Spring was coming and severe weather was behind us, we were hit with a windstorm.  Granted, it wasn't a severe tornado–like storm more commonly seen in the Midwest, but it toppled trees onto homes, roads, powerlines and (gulp) knocked out electricity to thousands of homes.  Now, I realize being temporarily out of power is a 'developed world' problem, but we are an indulged nation.  I was born and raised a spoiled citizen and can live with that.

Pollyanna to Elphaba
Ordinarily, I can maintain a positive attitude in a challenging situation, so when Earl texted me at breakfast Friday morning that the power was out, I thought, "No problem.  Surely the power would be restored by the end of the day.."  After all, it wasn't the middle of winter, there were two fireplaces for heat, a water tank with enough hot water for a couple of navy showers, gas for cooking, and emergency supplies.

My tech devices were charged (at the time), so I was confident that I could make make a phone call, text, listen to music or books and generally stay in touch with the outside world.  I wasn't thinking about the limited battery time for tech devices.  In a pinch, we could charge our various devices in the car. As it turned out however, Earl and I had way too many devices for the available charging ports and our marital harmony.

Since we had water, our septic system is gravity-based, the toilets still flushed and the drains–uh, drained.  But I worried about the neighbors with wells and sand filtration systems that depended on pumps.  There were some generators on the street, but not many.  Our emergency power supplies consisted of batteries, flashlights, and candles.  This was starting to be not adventure–like.  My 'Pollyanna' nature began to morph toward 'Elphaba'.*

Earl and I had an anniversary dinner to go to that evening and there was enough hot water for a quick shower to facilitate getting ready. When we got to the restaurant, I realized that while the power outage was widespread, it was not citywide.  There were people there who had never lost power, those who lost it only briefly, and those who had electricity restored after 4 to 6 hours.  All around us, the power came back on. But not our street. Illogically, I was beginning to resent anyone who could turn on lights by flipping a switch.  The food was great, but my 'Elphaba' nature was in full force.

A fire, a beer, and a movie
Recently, a young man from Thailand came to live with us while he completed his college studies. Although he is very independent, it was the first night Earl and I were going to leave him alone.  "No worries", he said.  But he didn't tell us that he wasn't crazy about the dark.  When we got home (in the dark), he was sitting in front of the fireplace, drinking a local beer, and watching a movie on his fully charged computer.  He had obviously gotten over his aversion to darkness and I was jealous.


We're so wired...


People with disabilities may be even more power dependent.  My wheelchair is manual, Skeeter was charged, but the weather sucked.  It was a bit of 'chicken little', but I was worried about being crushed by a falling tree.  We have a recumbent bicycle upstairs, a resistance machine, and weights, none of which require electricity.  It was time to get moving and abandon the excuses.  When it looked as though the street would remain dry,  I headed up the street on the trike.**

After a couple of days,  I was done with the adventure.  The three of us headed over to Heidi's house to charge our devices.  One, we knew we could count on the family not to give us grief about the inordinate number of devices used by three people.  Second, she had a shower.  The guys had taken cold showers that morning, but I availed myself of her hot water.  When we got home that afternoon, the power was on and we were happy campers.  I don't like to complain, but really, 60 freaking hours without power?  It was humbling to recognize how energy dependent we are.  Ugh!

The lesson:  How many devices are in your wallet?  What's the entertainment plan when there's no power?

*Previous post: Pity Party––Underrated?? 
Previous post: ** The Trike and Skeeter


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