Electricity is Back

The lack of news in recent days has nothing to do with a lack of activities, but instead a lack of electricity.   No one has a really good explanation of why.  Where I live we had just a few minutes of rain, no flooding, no winds, no thunder and lightning, but the power shut down early Monday evening and didn't come on in my complex until just before noon today.  Driving up to the Studio (which had power) I'd pass a few traffic lights that were working, then one that was off, with barriers blocking the way across the intersections.  Luckily, I was going north or south and those ways were open.  Some towns had power, and others nearby didn't.  And some still may not.  This is one wacky electric grid we got.

In the end it worked to 65 hours without power, not the longest such stretch in my life.  We had 8 days without during Hurricane Sandy, but that didn't seem as bad.  Perhaps because that occurred as the seasons were changing toward cold, and this one happened very near a heat wave, with lingering humidity.  As a Boy Scout I experienced a few weeks without electricity, but also without this heat and humidity.  More important, it was a different world then.  I was well prepared for Sandy, my building was solid, we had gas heat which brought hot water and a working stove.  It was easier to bring in my preferred radio station then, while this week I battled 3 religious stations that may have been exceeding their allotted range.  But the biggest change from youth to the power deprivations of the last few years was the changes to the world.   What I missed most last time was a problem that didn't exist in my scout days- lack of internet access and inability to recharge my cell phone.  The latter was especially an issue and the hurricane had taken out so many cell towers that the system was taxed and causing batteries to run down quickly.  There seemed to be no physical damage around here and I never needed to charge my phone.  This time the heat was the killer, and with air conditioning my apartment is always over 80 degrees, so without it the contents of my unpowered refrigerator and freezer never had a chance.  Had to throw out a lot of stuff this morning, but little that I will miss.