I have the distinction of having survived a four-day power outage last November and am currently surviving another as I write from a local café whose Internet is intact. It’s a dubious honor; but, for what it’s worth, I can make a comparison between winter and summer in this situation.
First, November’s outage meant the temperature in our home slowly went south. And, since I was still working the Internet was crucial. So Earl and I packed up and went to the local Holiday Inn Express; he got television reception in the deal and I got to keep working. He also went out and bought three battery operated lanterns that have proven invaluable.
Each day we’d return home to check on things, lanterns in hand. The days are short and dark in November, and it wasn’t pleasant at the house. Still, by visiting regularly we caught that the ice in the freezer was turning to water and slowly seeping from the dispenser in the door. There was a mini Lake Michigan pooling on the kitchen floor; had we not been vigilant we would have had a worse mess.
Fast forward to this week. We lost power Monday night when a most spectacular lightning storm came through the area accompanied by thunder and wind and rain in equally spectacular amounts. I, who usually sleep through these events, saw the entire thing.
It’s not fun to live without electricity for an extended period of time. But at least the weather cooperated this time, so we’ve stayed put. I’m no longer employed, so the Internet isn’t as crucial. And Earl now owns an iPad, which has become his entertainment center. We also knew enough to remove the ice container from the freezer early on.
In some ways winter and summer outages are alike. We’ve lost most of the food in the freezer and fridge both times. We are completely in the dark regarding what’s going on in the world at large. We search for outlets to charge our cellphones. Earl’s becoming a regular at his real estate office; for the price of a coffee I rent a table at the local café.
But the main factor in summer being more pleasant than winter when it comes to losing electricity is that we have been blessed with gorgeous weather that makes it bearable in our home. If it were ninety degrees, we would have closed the windows long ago and headed back to the Holiday Inn Express.
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