Last Saturday, when I posted about the end of the world, I had no idea that on Sunday we would experience a hurricane here in Ohio. Okay, not really, but the remnant of Ike blew it's way into town and for four hours we had 30 to 40 mph winds, with gusts of 80 mph. Not only did it cause extensive property damage, it left about 300,000 homes without electric (including mine). I am very lucky, I only lost a few tree limbs (and a refrigerator full of food), but my neighbors lost siding, roofs, and whole trees. My power was finally restored on Wednesday, but as of this morning, almost 90,000 customers are entering day seven, still in the dark. For me it was more of an inconvenience than anything else, but I was a little stir crazy by Tuesday night.
The storm itself was pretty surreal. No rain, sun was shining, just incredibly strong winds. I sat in my living room watching trees snap off and things go flying by, while my dogs all nervously tried to climb in my lap. I felt like Dorothy waiting to be swept off to Oz. However, it was the following three days without power that I found to be draining. It was only a glimpse of what people in Texas (who truly experienced the hurricane) went through. I continued to go to work (we had power there), the evenings at home in the dark that became rather depressing. The dogs remained nervous and clingy until our electric and our routine were restored. I would sit alone in the dark, trying to read or journal, by candlelight or flashlight. I usually just gave up and went to bed early. I was blessed and continued to have phone service and water (though only cold), but I was ecstatic when the lights came back on. I will admit, coffee, hot showers, and my computer are the things I missed the most.
I have vowed to be a little better prepared for an emergency, but we'll see if I actually follow through. This weekend I need to finish cleaning up the yard and restock the fridge. Oh, and catch up on the blogs that I read, I've missed you all.
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2 comments:
I'm very glad that you are okay. Very glad. I think you are very wise to get prepared for emergencies like this, because I think that storms will become more and more violent as time passes due to global warming. We do need to be prepared to take care of ourselves if there's an emergency and we need to learn to take care of ourselves with little or no resources.
The people of New Orleans had everything they needed to make their own clean water and all sorts of other things, but they didn't know how to use them. They are city folk and not at all used to the idea of how to do things on the scale of primitive camping.
I'm glad you've got all your little conveniences back. they are good for the soul eh? *smiles* ((hugs))
Thanks Shannee, I am a bit ashamed to admit how much I missed the electricity. I am a camper, I did manage okay, but I was not prepared.
I agree, I think that this is just the beginning. We are seeing more and more disasters and we need to be self-reliant. I wish more people would acknowledge this. It did me some good to get a taste of what others are experiencing on a grand scale.
Alice
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