Mondays are currently reserved for rewrites of old blog entries - whatever strikes my fancy. There are over 5,000, you know. You can access any of them with the search tools on the home page. You can use the word search near the top - just write a word or phrase in the rectangle with the magnifying glass. The other way, is to use the Blog Archive on the right. This one searches by date. Try it.
Well, here's a long entry from almost 14 years ago. It's easy reading. You may have gone through something similar at that time. (I have no idea why I was calling my dear wife "mamma" at the time.)
9/20/2008
POWER
At 10 minutes before seven on Tuesday evening, I was flipping some burgers on the grill and Mama was sitting on the back porch reading a celebrity rag. She is usually seen reading these things only while flying. I even asked her if she was going away. I came in to refill my wine glass and what did I see but light...electric light, that is. Light is not that significant to you unless you have been without it for 53 hours, including two nights.
The fun started last Sunday afternoon. Mama was visiting her brother in the hospital and I was settling in for what I hoped was a good afternoon watching the Bengals beat the Titans. Before the game began, I noted to myself how lucky we were...I had expected the game to be played in a rain storm which was the remnant of Hurricane Ike. I even blogged earlier in the week that I hoped Ike would not be memorable. I had walked/jogged 5 miles at Sharon Woods in the morning. It was truly a beautiful day.
I was in the basement and had a bag of peanuts at my side and a can for the shells in my lap. I had whipped up some tuna salad and had brought it along with some crackers. I was just getting everything settled into place when the cable went out. I flipped the radio on and left the frozen picture on the TV assuming it would be repaired shortly. I sat there looking at a still picture and listening to the debacle that was going on at Paul Brown Stadium for almost an hour. I had no idea what was going on outside. The announcers said the wind was picking up. Oh yeah! Good call!
I went upstairs about 2 o'clock to check out CBS Sportsline for all the NFL action. As I was booting up my computer, the system went dead. I could see out the window that wind was doing a job on our trees. With our 40-year-old evergreen on the ground and cut into pieces, our beautiful Bradford Pear was the focal point of our front yard. At about 2:30 it was split at the trunk and a third of it fell to the yard. For a while I thought that the remaining portion of the tree was viable. A fleeting thought. Mama got home and told stories of dodging trees and power lines. Shortly, another third of the tree fell. This section fell toward the house and landed on the flowering dogwood. The pear was about 30 years old and the dogwood about 35 years old.
We stood at the door and watched helplessly. Our melancholy was interrupted by the sound of metal clanging. Our front gutters had partially pulled away from the house. The wind gusts were too violent to go out and do anything about it at this point. There was nothing to do but wait it out. The gusts were so violent at times (up to 84 mph) that we were sure our big maple trees would go down. It was near 6 o'clock when the sustained wind subsided and the gusts came no more. A coolness was now in the air. People began to venture out of their houses to assess the damage.
I moved our cars to the end of the driveway and out of danger of further limbs falling. I collected two-thirds of my front gutter and laid it against the house. We had shingles from the garage area all over the back yard. Some of the shingles on the main house were turned up. A large branch of the maple next to the house was broken and hung perilously. It still does.
It was a while before we thought to look outside of our own yard. Electric wires were snaked across our street in front of our driveway. Our neighbor's huge evergreen had been blown over and was being held up by a guy wire connecting two utility poles. It had broken the two electric lines on its way over.
We collected the shingles and put them in piles and brought together some of the larger tree branches. Neighbors chatted in groups here and there; exchanging notes and impressions. Darkness was now falling.
The scramble was on to find flash lights and batteries; candles and matches. A transistor radio would be our lifeline to the outside world. Our telephone attached to the land line was still working.
Shortly after dark, that phone rang. My mother's house was also dark and there was no one to stay with her. Authorities had announced that we were to stay off of the road but this was an emergency of sorts. I was surprised how many people were out. Gas stations that were open had long lines of people trying to fill up before there was none to be had. Fast food restaurants with power had lines of cars fighting to get in. With candles in hand, I brought a flashlight and relief to my mother.
The next morning I went looking for food and a radio. I found a UDF open and bought juice and packaged rolls; the radio would have to wait. Mom's friend arrived and I headed home to see what I could do.
When I got home, I found out that my office had called and said not to come in. The power was out there, too. A neighbor came over with a chainsaw to take our tree all the way to the ground. I then started in with a loping shears and spent the rest of the day taking the tree apart; trying to get it into pieces I could handle. More sawing will have to be done. Piles of small branches line our driveway.
I grilled some brats for lunch. In the afternoon, while I worked on the tree, mama threw away all of our perishable food. (Tuesday is garbage pickup day) We went to the grocery together later in the day. This marked about the third time in our 42 year marriage that that has happened. We intended to buy food that didn't require cooking - which is the only food my wife likes, anyway. We covered the basic food groups; snacks, fruit and drinks. That evening we went to Longhorns for steaks, salmon and wine. Enough with this roughing it business.
Monday night was peaceful. I could get used to being without the TV - but not the computer. We slept well.
I was out early on Tuesday working on the tree again. My office called and said there was still no power there. Suzanne sneaked out to the store to get some Twinkies that I wouldn't let her buy the day before. She may have picked up more Butterfingers, too. I don't know. She brought home Chick-fil-a sandwiches for lunch. WLW radio was giving away ice at a spot near us and she went back out to pick up a couple bags and she got some ground beef for me to cook for dinner.
Mid-afternoon a neighbor reported that there were about 15 Duke Energy trucks up on Butler-Warren road near that substation. It wasn't long before a Duke survey truck came through. We were really getting excited. Then, here they came. Two boom trucks - four men to the rescue - out came the neighbors. Mama and I sat on some of our logs to watch. The boss came over to chat with us. Great guy. He and his men were from North Carolina. In less than an hour, the wires were reattached. We were ready whenever the mainline was put back in service. The neighbors came together and joked and laughed and said goodbye until the next crises arises.
.
The fun started last Sunday afternoon. Mama was visiting her brother in the hospital and I was settling in for what I hoped was a good afternoon watching the Bengals beat the Titans. Before the game began, I noted to myself how lucky we were...I had expected the game to be played in a rain storm which was the remnant of Hurricane Ike. I even blogged earlier in the week that I hoped Ike would not be memorable. I had walked/jogged 5 miles at Sharon Woods in the morning. It was truly a beautiful day.
I was in the basement and had a bag of peanuts at my side and a can for the shells in my lap. I had whipped up some tuna salad and had brought it along with some crackers. I was just getting everything settled into place when the cable went out. I flipped the radio on and left the frozen picture on the TV assuming it would be repaired shortly. I sat there looking at a still picture and listening to the debacle that was going on at Paul Brown Stadium for almost an hour. I had no idea what was going on outside. The announcers said the wind was picking up. Oh yeah! Good call!
I went upstairs about 2 o'clock to check out CBS Sportsline for all the NFL action. As I was booting up my computer, the system went dead. I could see out the window that wind was doing a job on our trees. With our 40-year-old evergreen on the ground and cut into pieces, our beautiful Bradford Pear was the focal point of our front yard. At about 2:30 it was split at the trunk and a third of it fell to the yard. For a while I thought that the remaining portion of the tree was viable. A fleeting thought. Mama got home and told stories of dodging trees and power lines. Shortly, another third of the tree fell. This section fell toward the house and landed on the flowering dogwood. The pear was about 30 years old and the dogwood about 35 years old.
We stood at the door and watched helplessly. Our melancholy was interrupted by the sound of metal clanging. Our front gutters had partially pulled away from the house. The wind gusts were too violent to go out and do anything about it at this point. There was nothing to do but wait it out. The gusts were so violent at times (up to 84 mph) that we were sure our big maple trees would go down. It was near 6 o'clock when the sustained wind subsided and the gusts came no more. A coolness was now in the air. People began to venture out of their houses to assess the damage.
I moved our cars to the end of the driveway and out of danger of further limbs falling. I collected two-thirds of my front gutter and laid it against the house. We had shingles from the garage area all over the back yard. Some of the shingles on the main house were turned up. A large branch of the maple next to the house was broken and hung perilously. It still does.
It was a while before we thought to look outside of our own yard. Electric wires were snaked across our street in front of our driveway. Our neighbor's huge evergreen had been blown over and was being held up by a guy wire connecting two utility poles. It had broken the two electric lines on its way over.
We collected the shingles and put them in piles and brought together some of the larger tree branches. Neighbors chatted in groups here and there; exchanging notes and impressions. Darkness was now falling.
The scramble was on to find flash lights and batteries; candles and matches. A transistor radio would be our lifeline to the outside world. Our telephone attached to the land line was still working.
Shortly after dark, that phone rang. My mother's house was also dark and there was no one to stay with her. Authorities had announced that we were to stay off of the road but this was an emergency of sorts. I was surprised how many people were out. Gas stations that were open had long lines of people trying to fill up before there was none to be had. Fast food restaurants with power had lines of cars fighting to get in. With candles in hand, I brought a flashlight and relief to my mother.
The next morning I went looking for food and a radio. I found a UDF open and bought juice and packaged rolls; the radio would have to wait. Mom's friend arrived and I headed home to see what I could do.
When I got home, I found out that my office had called and said not to come in. The power was out there, too. A neighbor came over with a chainsaw to take our tree all the way to the ground. I then started in with a loping shears and spent the rest of the day taking the tree apart; trying to get it into pieces I could handle. More sawing will have to be done. Piles of small branches line our driveway.
I grilled some brats for lunch. In the afternoon, while I worked on the tree, mama threw away all of our perishable food. (Tuesday is garbage pickup day) We went to the grocery together later in the day. This marked about the third time in our 42 year marriage that that has happened. We intended to buy food that didn't require cooking - which is the only food my wife likes, anyway. We covered the basic food groups; snacks, fruit and drinks. That evening we went to Longhorns for steaks, salmon and wine. Enough with this roughing it business.
Monday night was peaceful. I could get used to being without the TV - but not the computer. We slept well.
I was out early on Tuesday working on the tree again. My office called and said there was still no power there. Suzanne sneaked out to the store to get some Twinkies that I wouldn't let her buy the day before. She may have picked up more Butterfingers, too. I don't know. She brought home Chick-fil-a sandwiches for lunch. WLW radio was giving away ice at a spot near us and she went back out to pick up a couple bags and she got some ground beef for me to cook for dinner.
Mid-afternoon a neighbor reported that there were about 15 Duke Energy trucks up on Butler-Warren road near that substation. It wasn't long before a Duke survey truck came through. We were really getting excited. Then, here they came. Two boom trucks - four men to the rescue - out came the neighbors. Mama and I sat on some of our logs to watch. The boss came over to chat with us. Great guy. He and his men were from North Carolina. In less than an hour, the wires were reattached. We were ready whenever the mainline was put back in service. The neighbors came together and joked and laughed and said goodbye until the next crises arises.
.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment