blackout

9:30pm Tuesday Night

We are returning home after grocery shopping. I'm hungry and can't wait to get a pizza in the oven. I go to the bedroom to change out of my dress clothes.

The lights go out.

My dad was over monday to fix the my circuit box so I assume there is a problem.
There is a problem but it is not ours alone. The whole street is out.
Correction the whole block is out.
Correction the whole neighbourhood is out.

Interesting how dependent you are on power and when it suddenly vanishes you are left running around and bumping heads like some pitch-black Three Stooges episode.

Two weeks ago, after Katrina, we bought matches, and lighters, and a big flashlight. The flashlight came in handy. (Next on the disaster-prep shopping list will be a crank radio.)

We took a drive around the dark town. It seemed like it was our chunk of neighborhood that was out. (1,500 people or so)

We came back home and there was nothing to do but sleep.

At 11:00 pm the lights flickered to life and my bedroom fan began blowing on me. We breathed a collective sigh of relief and collectively realized how enslaved we are to the power grid.

Further study:

The "Little House" book series.

Items to buy:

Crank shortwave radio.