I missed the blackout by about 300 feet. No joke!
Bridgeport had power; Fairfield (which my humble abode borders) -- and much of the Connecticut Valley and the western part of the state -- did not.
But, before I wuss out and forfeit my responsibility to rant, I must inform that last summer, after a brutal thunder storm, I was without power for 4 days.
Once the initial shock of the loss of electricity is overcome, the inconvenience has to be dealt with. Get some batteries for your flashlights, some candles to read by, and lots of ice to help preserve the perishables in the fridge.
If you have gas-heated water and oven then you're golden!
Once the inconvenience is dealt with: camping trip!!
Too hot and muggy inside? Get in the yard! Lay out a blanket and ring it with citrinella candles! Or, just put on some bug repellent and watch the bats do the rest!
The phones work; call yer friends and neighbors! Bring beer and any ice that hasn't melted yet!
Fercryin'outloud, we dealt without electricity, the internet, 24-hour cable news and central air conditioning for a hundred thousand years. The horror of a power outage is all in our minds. Access to technology is a benefit to being a human, not a Right or neccessity... it's merely a break in our modern habit.
Not only was I without power for 4 days last year, I actually lived for 15 months without electricity, gas, oil and phone -- to save a few bucks -- back in my condo days (ten years ago). I've been meaning to write a survivors guide to living in the city without power. Some day I might (h'yeah, right...).
Posted by Tuning Spork at August 15, 2003 09:50 PM