Act of God

Last Friday we were completely caught off guard as a Derecho pummeled us (and about 5 millions others) with 80-85 mph winds knocking out power in the middle of a heat wave.  When the storm hit, I was unloading my bike from the roof of Shelly's car.  Suddenly, I thought God himself would walk up my driveway as I watched my trees bow to the ground.  I have never experienced anything like it, and it was quite honestly a bit frightening.  Several trees down and power out, but no injuries or real damage.

I was also shocked at the level of apparent panic.  The few gas stations with power had lines (and fights) over 1/2 mile long on Saturday.  No ice to be found either.  I unloaded our freezer and we hate everything I could cook on the grill.  I even cooked a pizza with tomatoes, avocados, peppers, and fresh mozzarella Saturday evening.  Thankfully, we also have plenty of fresh eggs with the hens laying 4 eggs a day (on average).  Boiled water on the grill burner and made fresh, French press coffee.  Laying in bed at night with the windows open all that could be heard were generators running from the neighbors houses.  My generator broke a couple years ago after a very long life.  Never replaced it either.  So now I am backup options.  Solar sounds appealing, though expensive and does not work at night.  Small portable generators are nice, but require attending to, gasoline (panic lines at the gas station), and are noisy.  Really leaning toward a propane set.

I did come into the office on Sunday to catch the UEFA Euro '12 finals on ESPN3.  Our power was back on Monday night.  Big thanks to the hard working power crews.  Still no phone though.

In a way, it was nice.  I missed having a shower (it may have been 90+ outside, but 50 degree water is downright cold to shower in).  Losing our fridge was a pain.  But, it was fun sitting on the porch in the evening with Shelly while Brock played.  After the power came on, I listened to the oldest boy complain about how it isn't cool enough quick enough.  Shelly sat and played Words on her Kindle.  I sat outside, by myself, and watched some deer in the yard.

Watched the fireworks in the Sunpower parking lot on the 3rd.  Went for a 30 mile ride on the 4th (even in the morning, it felt really hot).  Ran into a crew working on the power that were from Florida.  Still folks without power though, including my in-laws.

Hang in there.