February 28, 2010 — Checked my email and read the Globe on Pam and Roger's computers. Possibly looking forward to another day hanging out at the mall, taking in a movie I might not care about, I'm starting to get a little depressed. I've now been homeless going into a third day. I could have stayed with Pam and Roger, but I wanted to be home when the power finally came on. Calling my home phone from my cell phone generated a canned message from the phone company, not the message recorded on my phone which would require power. That wasn't encouraging, but I told myself that's not necessarily proof the power is off.
Back in Manchester around 10 a.m., the power was still off. I wasn't really surprised. I went back to the mall, this time without the laptop because I had gotten all my computing done at Pam and Roger's. Had lunch, came back home again, house now at 44 degrees. I really didn't feel like seeing my third movie in three days, and I was trying to think of some other way to kill time. I was rummaging around the closet off my living room at about 1:20 p.m. when I heard voices. What is that, I thought. Then I realized the voices were in the house. It was my TV in the den. HOORAY! I have power! I couldn't believe it for a moment.
The house was slowly warming up. The power originally went off the night before my normal grocery shopping day, so my food supply was pretty well exhausted, and I had thrown away what little was left in the refrigerator. So I went shopping, deciding to get something for supper and a few non-perishables. I didn't want to push my luck. Sometimes after a major power outage where there's been extensive damage, there can be instability and the power can go off again. That didn't happen.
Looking back on the past three days, I realize I suffered nothing worse then annoyance and inconvenience. No trees crashed through my house or flattened my car as happened to some folks. No damage was incurred due to the long outage except for loss of food. My PC, TV, furnace and all my electronics came through unscathed. I got a brief taste of what it is to be homeless and uprooted, and I now have even greater sympathy for those who experience this for prolonged periods.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Power Outage — Part III
February 27, 2010 — After breakfast with Pam and Roger, I headed back to Manchester, hoping to find the power on, but it wasn't meant to be. Temperature in the house now in the mid 50s. I grabbed the laptop and went back to the mall to check email and read the Globe. Killed time until noon, had lunch, came back home, still no power, headed for the movies. Power still off after the movie. Do businesses get priority when power is restored? The entire mall, only a short distance from my house, had power, the movie theatre had power, and I had no trouble finding a restaurant open, but my house and all my neighbors houses were in the dark and traffic lights were out everywhere, making driving rather dangerous.
Roads were wet from light rain earlier and snowmelt, and they predicted a freeze in the evening, so Pam kindly invited me to come down earlier and have supper with them and stay overnight again, which I did.
Roads were wet from light rain earlier and snowmelt, and they predicted a freeze in the evening, so Pam kindly invited me to come down earlier and have supper with them and stay overnight again, which I did.
Power Outage — Part II
February 26, 2010 — Still no power when I got up this morning. The house was cool, mid-60s, but tolerable. I have a gas stove, so I was able to make breakfast. I took a hot shower, but stepping out of the shower into 65-degree air is a shock. No TV or radio of course, but most of all I missed being able to read my email and the Boston Globe's online edition I subscribe to. I read the print edition of the New Hampshire Union Leader.
By 10 o'clock I was getting really antsy, so I grabbed my laptop and drove over to the Mall of New Hampahire where they have Wi-Fi throughout the mall. There I was able to check my email and read the entire Globe on the laptop. I killed some time walking around the mall, then had lunch at the food court.
I drove home after lunch, hoping that by now the power would be back on. No such luck. Temperature in the house was now 60, a bit uncomfortable. In spite of that, I spent about an hour reading. Then I decided to go to a movie. Many detours around the city due to downed trees, branches and wires. I would later learn about 85 streets in the city were closed.
After killing a couple of hours at the movies, I came home again. Power still off. House now downright cold. I was now facing the realization I wouldn't be able to sleep at home tonight if the power remained off. I went out to supper after which I returned to a house still without power. I had heard on my car radio that shelters were available, but sleeping with dozens of strangers was even less appealing than sleeping in a freezing house. I started calling motels and inns in the area, but all were either full or not answering.
Calls to the electric company now played a recording stating hundreds of thousands in southern New Hampshire were without power and it would take multiple days to restore. I called my sister and her husband, Pam and Roger, just across the line in Massachusetts and asked her if she had a sofa or a cot or even a chair I could sleep on if I came down. She did, so I threw a change of clothes and a toothbrush in a satchel and headed down there, where I spent a comfortable night.
By 10 o'clock I was getting really antsy, so I grabbed my laptop and drove over to the Mall of New Hampahire where they have Wi-Fi throughout the mall. There I was able to check my email and read the entire Globe on the laptop. I killed some time walking around the mall, then had lunch at the food court.
I drove home after lunch, hoping that by now the power would be back on. No such luck. Temperature in the house was now 60, a bit uncomfortable. In spite of that, I spent about an hour reading. Then I decided to go to a movie. Many detours around the city due to downed trees, branches and wires. I would later learn about 85 streets in the city were closed.
After killing a couple of hours at the movies, I came home again. Power still off. House now downright cold. I was now facing the realization I wouldn't be able to sleep at home tonight if the power remained off. I went out to supper after which I returned to a house still without power. I had heard on my car radio that shelters were available, but sleeping with dozens of strangers was even less appealing than sleeping in a freezing house. I started calling motels and inns in the area, but all were either full or not answering.
Calls to the electric company now played a recording stating hundreds of thousands in southern New Hampshire were without power and it would take multiple days to restore. I called my sister and her husband, Pam and Roger, just across the line in Massachusetts and asked her if she had a sofa or a cot or even a chair I could sleep on if I came down. She did, so I threw a change of clothes and a toothbrush in a satchel and headed down there, where I spent a comfortable night.
Power Outage — Part I
February 25, 2010 — Around 11 p.m. I'm at my PC working on a web page and watching the Olympics while a violent wind and rain storm that would later make the news nationally rages outside. Wind sounds like a freight train. Oh, no! The power just went off. PC and TV went black, all lights out. In about 30 seconds, it came back on. PC came up OK and TV came back on. Fortunately, I had saved my work just minutes before the power went off. I immediately shut the PC down because I had a feeling it could happen again. In about 15 minutes that feeling would be confirmed.
Before the power went out I had seen Kim Yu-Na of Korea skate what would be the gold medal-winning performance, and the silver medal effort of Mao Asada of Japan. After the power came back on, I was watching Canada's Joannie Rochette skate her heartfelt program after the sudden death of her mother. She would win the bronze, but I wasn't going to know that for another day. Partway through her program — BANG! The power went off again, accompanied by the sound of an explosion somewhere outside. After about a half hour with no power and the sound of another explosion somewhere, I called the electric company, but a recorded voice asked me to leave my number and they would call me when the power came back on. Well, hello? Wouldn't I know that without them calling to tell me?
I decided I might as well go to bed. I sleep upstairs just under the roof. Listening to the roar of the wind, it occurred to me that if my large maple or one of the tall trees on the property abutting mine crashed through my roof, it would come down on my head, so I got up, pulled the blankets and sheets off the bed, brought them downstairs and made up the sofa in the living room where I spent the night. I heard another explosion. I didn't sleep much.
Before the power went out I had seen Kim Yu-Na of Korea skate what would be the gold medal-winning performance, and the silver medal effort of Mao Asada of Japan. After the power came back on, I was watching Canada's Joannie Rochette skate her heartfelt program after the sudden death of her mother. She would win the bronze, but I wasn't going to know that for another day. Partway through her program — BANG! The power went off again, accompanied by the sound of an explosion somewhere outside. After about a half hour with no power and the sound of another explosion somewhere, I called the electric company, but a recorded voice asked me to leave my number and they would call me when the power came back on. Well, hello? Wouldn't I know that without them calling to tell me?
I decided I might as well go to bed. I sleep upstairs just under the roof. Listening to the roar of the wind, it occurred to me that if my large maple or one of the tall trees on the property abutting mine crashed through my roof, it would come down on my head, so I got up, pulled the blankets and sheets off the bed, brought them downstairs and made up the sofa in the living room where I spent the night. I heard another explosion. I didn't sleep much.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
