Here’s something we don’t think about until we need to: What if we have no electric power?
Having lights on, and the means to make coffee in the morning, and a clock that tells you the actual time – these are things we mostly take for granted. Until we cannot.
We had what I’d call a minor thunderstorm Monday night. My first inkling was my phone ringing at 11:30 p.m. Now, no one ever calls me at that hour. I marched over to the phone and said, “This is way too late to be calling!”
Then came the “code red alert”: A severe thunderstorm was coming, and we had best take shelter now.
I looked outside. It wasn’t even raining.
Nonetheless, I was ready to go to bed anyway, so I didn’t worry.
And I was lucky: I was able to go through the house and turn out all the lights, as usual. I was able to brush my teeth. I turned on the bedroom ceiling fan, because it was stuffy and too warm. As I crawled into bed, though, BLIP! The power went out. Oh well, no problem, I thought. I don’t need the lights to sleep anyway.
I found out though, during the nine hours the power was out, that I actually do need the electric nightlight in my bathroom.
Now, I know exactly where the bedroom bathroom is. I’ve found it thousands of times. But, as I got up again and again Monday night into Tuesday, I was walking into walls. Banging into bedposts. And doorways. I learned I’d better head to the bathroom almost before I needed to.
And, since there was no power, I had no idea what time it was. I have a dependence on clocks and knowing the exact time. But no. It could have been 11:45; it could have been 2:30 in the morning.
I had trouble getting back to sleep because I was fretting about my morning coffee. What if the power was still out? What would I do about coffee? I can’t do much without coffee, first thing. I’d have no choice but to drive to The Homestead and wait in line for it.
I couldn’t make any calls anywhere, either. Not that I make middle-of-the-night phone calls, but I’d need to know if wherever I was going for coffee had power. And, of course, coffee. Turns out, neither my house phones or my cell phone will work unless there’s power.
It was all quite unsettling, really. I can lie awake worrying over just about anything. Now, I had something to worry about! It was a restless night. I also worried about the ice cream in the freezer. Would it survive?
I was astonished to wake up – after the power was restored – to discover it was after 9 a.m. What? I don’t sleep that long! The clock must be screwy.
It wasn’t. I really had “slept” from 11:30 p.m. until 9:30 a.m. Ten hours! Who knows why?
At least, I was able to make my coffee. Then, I spent some time going around adjusting all the screwy clocks.
I haven’t checked the ice cream yet. I’ll just let it refreeze. And be very glad I have power again… You gotta love it!
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