We've been running an interesting sort of social experiment around here - half our immediate area is without power, while the other half (including moi, thank heavens) is still luxuriating in such modern conveniences as electric lights and working air conditioning. Sort of a First World meets Third World reality show, waiting to happen. I managed to reach a friend on her cellphone (landline and Internet down in her part of town) earlier, and she admitted to feeling a surprising amount of resentment toward the other people she ran into at the grocery store, the people who weren't scooping up flashlights and who didn't smell as if they had been sitting in a not air-conditioned house on a 95-degree day for hours.
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| All this man wants is some AC |
Because I'm slow to figure things out. Things like, movies need electricity. So there went that idea.
The whole day went like that. By the end, things were getting a tad crazy - roaming sweaty hordes searching desperately for their next hit of AC, flashlight shortages, gas lines (not sure why) - sort of like Mad Max, only more apocalyptic. If things don't improve soon, Larry will be staying awake all night, defending our dwindling ice cream supplies with a shotgun. Pray for us.
Our power flickered, but was never out for more than a few minutes at a time. But, two streets over, they don't have power. And the county surrounding us is largely electricity-free right now. It's a crazy mix.
ReplyDeleteMy brother commented that some of his neighbors had lost internet and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
ReplyDeleteI would love to spend a week or two without the internet as long as there was some sort of power to inform everyone that I wasn't just in a snit. I love it, and I hate loving it.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on that one.
DeleteHow awful for people--especially in the HEAT. Good luck cleaning up from this messy storm.
ReplyDeleteLast year a wind shear took out hundred year old trees and power for most of my parents' neighborhood and it was a good week or so before there was electricity. I walked around the eerily dark streets with my mom at night, and it was hard not to resent the people with noisy generators (leftover from Y2K?) who didn't have whole freezers of food going bad in their houses. One street in particular was interesting because one side had power and the other side did not.
ReplyDeleteUgh I hate that movie!! And all other Mel Gibson movies, they are all whack!!
ReplyDeleteOut where I live my whole little block will have power but me. For some reason I'm on the same strip as the road behind me :(
I'm reading this at my brother's house. But at least we have power and water now. Which means...we get to have our regular Sunday night movie, yay!
ReplyDeleteI remember when we had a nasty ice storm and went without power or water for an entire week. By Day 6, I was *ACTUALLY* sitting at a bar when someone had the gall to come in and lament that he'd only gotten his power back the previous day. WRONG AUDIENCE, BUCKO. Anywho, at least that was winter and not summer because no power in summer is far, far worse. I've been wondering how everything has been for folks who have been without. What a mess :(
ReplyDeleteThe gas lines confused me too at first. People who have generators need LOTS of gas to run those suckers.
ReplyDeleteDay four begins... It's a disgrace. And kind of scary if you really think about it. This is our infrastucture? This is how protected we are? Oh! But at least the casinos in Atlantic City are up and running: http://nj1015.com/atlantic-city-ready-for-4th-as-power-restoration-continues/ (Scroll down just past video.) Go celebrate the 4th! Priorities, people! ~annie
ReplyDeleteApparently those gas pumps need electricity, too... no power, no ability to suck gas from the underground storage and into your car.
ReplyDeleteWe spent three and a half days without power when a big storm came through a couple years ago (tornado out in Western LoCo) and it was a miserable, sweaty couple of days. I had severe generator envy.
Years ago, my mom lost power for a week in mid-December (high winds, ice). Her house got down to 42 degrees indoors, and while that was a bragging point, I don't think the shivering was worth it. Seeing Christmas lights in all the other neighborhoods certainly added to the intense power envy. On the other hand, her fridge was cleaned out nicely before she had everyone visit for Christmas...