In the dark, again

Yesterday late morning I went for my bike ride. The weather radar showed I should have no trouble getting home before rain hit. And – 20 minutes after returning home – the rain hit. And it hit hard – heavy rain and strong wind. I later heard someone say it might have been a mini tornado. The winds might have been strong enough, but I didn’t hear the roar of an actual tornado (not that I’ve experienced that in person). Ten minutes into the storm the electricity went out. Since it didn’t come back on quickly I realized this could be a long outage, as in hours or days. Thankfully, this is June, so I’m not worried about heat. The passing storm also cooled down Tuesday’s high of 88F to last night’s 53F. The storm didn’t last long, though a light rain lasted a while. I called the electric company to report the outage. The answer bot didn’t give an estimate of when my power would be back. I can tell there is a problem on the main road when traffic picks up on my street. As is with many suburban neighborhoods mine opens only onto one minor main road. To go anywhere I have to use that main road. When traffic can’t get through on that main road drivers try looking for an alternate. In my neighborhood there isn’t one. I’m on the street that’s farthest from the main so if traffic picks up on my street – such as five cars in a row – I know something is wrong. I walked out to the main road, getting there about the time the lower elementary school by the neighborhood entrances let out. I saw a lot of downed branches and a couple downed half trees, one blocking a neighborhood street. Looking down the main road I saw a cracked utility pole near the school. I’m sure it didn’t fall over because of the line tension on either side of it. The traffic signal it had been holding up was now smashed in the street. There was also a downed wire, so the street was closed off. Yep, that explained the traffic on my street. Students were not allowed to exit on the main road side. So I saw a steady stream of parents and kids walk beside the entrance road to the safety guy at a new position helping them cross the main road. Back at home I couldn’t work on any of my planned projects. This reminded me that most, close to all, of the projects that fill my days I do on a computer. And I couldn’t. So I took my current book out on the porch to read. By this time the sun was out, the air was cool, and the day was pleasant. And the mosquitoes are not out yet. After watching several cars go by I moved my chair from the porch to the sidewalk. As each car passed I waved to get them to stop. Most waved back and kept right on going. A few did stop and I could explain the only way out is back to the blocked main road, though you could go past it and get somewhere useful. If the had turned right instead of left they would have been in a neighborhood that did have several other exits. Yesterday Lunch was a couple protein bars. Supper was peanut butter and chips (though not together). I rescued the sugar snap peas from the refrigerator before I had to declare them spoiled. At 6:30 I called the electric company. They said estimated completion was Thursday without giving a time. After my meager supper I sat on the porch again and read. When that got too dark I came inside, lit candles, and read. I went to bed early. In the morning the electric company called. They said I could go to a particular parking lot (several miles from here) where they would be handing out ice and supplies. Goodness, this could be a long one. Today I did some yard work, then back to reading. I rode around the neighborhood across the main road for a different view of what had power and what didn’t. I went to a restaurant for lunch (and ate breakfast food). Then back to reading. At 3:30 I called the electric company again. They said the power would be back this evening by 10:30. A short walk this afternoon, hearing the noise of lots of generators. More reading, and a pleasant afternoon for it. Then out to pick up some supper. Tomorrow is trash day. Rather convenient. The last power outage was on trash day so the spoiled food couldn’t be disposed of for a week. So I cleaned stuff out of the fridge and freezer and took it out to the curb. I opened the door – what’s that music ... oh! The power is back! Total time out 30 hours, 40 minutes.