Powerless
I am continually amazed at how accurate weatherforecaster guys can be at times, especially when it comes to bad weather. Ask them for a sunny prediction and they might oblige, but they will always add a standard weather forecast er guy disclaimer of 35% chance of showers. Last summer, we experienced a devastating drought. Even though I knew what the weather would be, the weatherforecaster guys continued with their disclaimer; however, they did reduce the percentage of chance of rain to 15%...in a drought! In most cases, this would be called the CYA syndrome which is the acronym for Cover Your [Butt]. A few days ago, they predicted bad weather and boy did they deliver and they never used their CYA clause.
We woke up to some of the wildest winds I have ever seen on Liars Mountain. The predicted heavy rainfall arrived almost to the forecasted minute which was at noon. The lights flickered a few times and then the power went out, leaving the house in eerie silence. No noise from the TV or the water cooler, the fans and the refrigerator silenced, leaving only the crackling of the woodstove and the ticking of a clock as the soundtrack for our life this afternoon. The wind was howling with reported speeds of almost 50 miles an hour. As branches flew and treetops swayed, I tried to imagine what it would be like to be in a hurricane with wind speeds four times what was scaring the heck out of me at that moment.
About 15 minutes after the power went out, I began to worry about items in our refrigerator that might begin to spoil so I fired up the pro- pane BBQ and grilled some chicken we were going to have for supper anyway. Then I began to worry about the beer in my fridge going bad. So, with some encouragement from my bride, I began a “rescue” mission to save the beer… and quench my thirst. I needed the beer bravado because it might not have been that wise to be out grilling chicken breasts in a fierce storm…but I am Canadian and my stomach must be fed and my thirst quenched, even if I needed an umbrella to succeed.
The day darkened to night; the storm died down, but the damage had been done. After 4 or 5 hours of being without power, I must admit, I was somewhat panicked. I do not like the dark; I have a flashlight in every room and probably in most of my jackets, but they are all battery powered. For some strange reason, this stormy day was when I discovered I needed fresh batteries in most of my lighting devices. No problem. I’ll just charge them up… oh crap! No power…duh! This is when my bride went totally primitive and began to light some candles that calmed my night nervousness with aroma therapy. Good thing candles don’t need recharging. After enjoying some BBQ’d chicken and rescuing a few beers from spoiling in my fridge, I almost became relaxed enough to have a nap but it was nearing that magic time of night when Jeopardy comes on. The question or answer was…”Will the power return in time or will I need to invent a propane powered TV?”
I must live right, because I already know I am lucky. The power came back on just in time for Jeopardy. As all the electronic gizmos and gadgets in the house beeped to announce their return, I thought to myself about the folks who are not as lucky in surviving way worse storms than what we experienced. I also thought I need to be better prepared next time…how about you?