Back to Basics

A storm blew in while I slept and woke me before dawn banging on my windows.  Fully awake, the power went.  Rushing to the window, I saw that the traffic lights were out too. That meant the whole town was affected, or so I thought.

My telephones were working; I had plenty of batteries, a couple of flashlights, a radio.  The taps were running.  I had water and flushing toilets.  Though the middle of January, it was a freaky 60 degrees outside, so lack of heat was not an issue.

Luckily, I had an old-fashioned coffee pot.  I got a match to light the stove and proceeded to make my breakfast in the dark of the howling storm.  Watching the chaos of the rush-hour traffic below me, now without benefit of traffic signals, I saw several flashes of light.  Pop, pop, pop.  Then the awful smell.  

I learned later that a power line exploded.  The only power outage apparently, was the block on which I live.  

It lasted almost 12 hours.  

Ironic when you consider that the town in which I live is considered a strategic target for terrorists.

As a matter of fact, a couple of weeks ago, each resident received a gift in the mail from the local government.  It was a giant magnet detailing instructions in case of emergency: water, batteries, prescriptions and cash, etc. The magnet also noted a newly-created low bandwidth local radio station that allegedly broadcasts 24/7 to keep everyone informed.

My radio loaded with fresh batteries tuned in as instructed on the magnet.  So much for up-to-the minute information. It was just a prerecorded loop of someone reading aloud the same instructions that were printed on the magnet.

What did I miss most? The Internet, of course. It is astounding how dependent I’ve become on instant communication.  I actually considered using one of those free trial dialup ISP disks but realized it would cut off my telephone communication.  I turned on my laptop’s wireless button instead hoping against hope that someone somewhere nearby had power and an open wireless signal.  No such luck.

At least the battery on my laptop allowed me to keep my promise for 500 words a day.