Modern conveniences are something
we take for granted. I was recently reminded how dependent we are on them when
the power went out at my house for about 6 ½ hours.
There
are areas in the world where air conditioning is not a necessity. Alabama is
not one of them, especially in the summer. A strong line of thunderstorms moved
through in the early evening, apparently knocking down a tree up the street
aways and causing us to lose power. The lights flickered several times before
the electricity decided it had had enough and quit.
Our
biggest worry was the air conditioning being gone. Yes, I know the blackout was
at night, but with no fans to blow the air around, the temperatures inside the
house kept climbing. I went outside twice to see if we’d gain anything from
opening the windows, but the outside was warmer or the same temperature as the
inside of the house, and much muggier.
Our
second worry was my husband’s need for a CPAP, another electrical gadget. He’s been on one for years and he cannot sleep
without it on.
The
least of our worries was entertainment. No power means no internet, no
television, no streaming, no lights. There I at least was lucky, since my
trusty Kindle was charged and can last for days without needing a recharge and
it is subtly backlit. But reading wakes Mark up, so he was without a way to
entertain himself.
About
7, we decided that we would go for a drive to use the air conditioning in the
car and hope the power would come back on while we were gone. Kayla was sick,
so even though the house heat only made her more miserable, she declined to
come with us. Going for a drive raised another issue – the garage door opener
is electric and wouldn’t work either. Fortunately, we keep one car and Mark’s
Can-am in the garage and the other car stays out in the driveway, so we still
had access to transportation. It was also fortunate that the car in the
driveway was his Ford Bronco Sport. Ford can put together an air conditioner! We’ve
never had one that wasn’t capable of freezing us out of the car if we put the
temperature down low enough.
When we got home, we still were without power. The
drive cooled our brains down at least to the point we could think again, at
which time we remembered that Mark keeps a battery charger that also can act as
a power source in the garage that could power his CPAP for a few hours. And
after about two hours of tossing and turning in the bedroom feeling hotter and
hotter, I remembered that my charging gizmo has a port on the side where I
could plug a small fan in. I found said fan and got to sleep by midnight,
finally. Until 2:45 when the power came back on and everything that hadn’t been
turned off when the power went blip came back on.
But the most irritating thing about the whole experience? My own reflexes. Even though I knew the power was out and the switches wouldn’t work, I still flipped the light switch in every single room I walked into. And for a split second, part of me was astounded when the lights didn’t go on. The other part of me was shaking her head at my ineptitude. Habits are powerful, powerful forces.
Are there habits you have established in your daily routine that help you with your writing process? Do they help you keep on track? How hard is it to break a writing habit versus the light switch habit or something similar? Inquiring minds want to know.
A couple of summers ago, they were planning to do work around my condo complex. At night. And they gave us warnings. But, like you, sleeping without the AC in Southern CA in the summer is questionable. I really cooled my place down and make sure batteries were charged early only for them to postpone the work. Then they did it later, and the power was out for about half the time they said it would be out.
ReplyDeleteI definitely sympathize with your unexpected power outage.
Having grown up without air conditioning and not having it for our house or cabin in the U.P. does remind on hot nights of all the tricks we used to say cool. Feet in cold water - fans running full-time -- and how they don't work nearly as well as A/C!
ReplyDeleteGlad it didn't last too long.
Before we moved a few years ago, we lived in an area served by a rural electric cooperative. The power used to go out frequently--apparently not the coop's doing, but because the supplier on the grid was in no hurry to repair the main connection when it went out. (I'm sure they got considerably less from the coop than from most customers--our electric bills were much lower than average & we got a rebate every year.) Eventually the situation was resolved. I'd like to think it was because of improved technology, but I have a suspicion it was because we elected a new state representative who paid attention to our complaints and made inquiries to the state regulating agency.
ReplyDeleteHope you're making it through this heat wave in good shape now that the power is back on.
Oh, Nancy, so glad your power was restored!
ReplyDeleteLife after hurricanes in Florida taught us many coping mechanisms. My first house was the easiest - built before a/c it made use of cross ventilation and remained cool on all but the hottest days. When I bought it, I converted everything to natural gas. In the wake of hurricanes when the power was out for weeks, I cooked for the neighborhood and made showers available to all. Not so lucky with our second Florida house. That one was built to retain a/c so few windows that opened and none that cross ventilated. It was also in an airpark so propane (the only gas source available) was out of the question. The two powerless weeks after Irma were rough. We ended up sleeping on the balcony! We had a generator, but used it sparingly. Mostly to power the refrigerators and the water pump.
I completely understand the automatic flicking on of lights that wouldn't work. After two weeks of carrying a flashlight everywhere, it took some time to break the habit!
Ugh. I hope things are looking up for you and your family. I've been through prolonged power outages twice, for four days after Hurricane Bob hit Cape Cod, and for four days after an early fall windstorm in Cincinnati cut power for the area. In the aftermath of both storms, it was cool enough to sleep without a/c. I had ice in coolers. We had a grill for heating coffee water and cooking dinner. We survived with frequent dog walks and books.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHurricanes mean that we might not have power for days. When we have an incoming one, we fill our tanks with gas for our partial house generator. My freezer, our phones, and one window shaker comprise our essentials! Usually, we can get our power back in two days. Any longer, and it is a real pain. No see ums are vicious little suckers!
ReplyDeleteUgh--sorry you had to deal with that. It is amazing how our habits control us. When the electrical grid failed in Texas during a massive ice storm a couple of years ago, we had the same issue except reversed. We put on all our clothes, hats, coats, etc., and kept waiting for some heat!
ReplyDelete