Oliver and I walked up Prince St. last night to visit Ann and David, and then Gary. Ann and David are on Granville St., Gary is up and over a bit on Walthen Drive. Both of their houses were without power. The weird thing was that you only had to go a block in either direction (or, in Gary’s case, one house up the street) to find the power back on.
As it was after dark when we trekked from Ann and David’s to Gary’s, and the street lights were on (or not on), the experience of entering and exiting this little corridor of darkness was sort of like stepping back into time.
People inside the Loop of Darkness were hunkered down, throwing out food, talking about the hurricane, fraying at their ends. People outside the Loop were going about their normal business: eating, singing, laughing, watching television.
It’s horrible to be without power. Both because of the practical difficulties that result — cold showers, spoiled food — but also because it smashes us straight into an immovable wall over which we have little or no control.
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I am Peter Rukavina and this is my blog. I am a writer, letterpress printer, and a curious person.
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Comments
As the “Ann” of this story, I
As the “Ann” of this story, I can lend a dis-spirited “here, here” to Peter’s comments. When I lived in the country, I had kerosene lamps, woodstove, water heater that worked from the wood stove, a propane cookstove and a radio that ran off a car battery. We didn’t actually care if we lost power or not.
In town, I don’t even have a barbeque.
The sad fact I have learned about myself (who has always considered herself to be a free spirited roll with the punches type of girl) is that I actually need routine: the morning coffee, a shower, baseball playoffs.
My house actually smells stale, despite the fact we are more or less living in it and we have thrown away a lot of food.
I would just like to go to sleep until it’s all over.
This, http://trainstory.com
This, http://trainstory.com/comments… , started out as a response to this thread. Self reliance may be the smartest and cheapest route for some.
I don’t want to sound like I
I don’t want to sound like I am gloating right now (because I am not), but I have certainly enjoyed being “off the grid” this week. My sister and her family have been without power all week and are not having much fun.
Sandy, you should be gloating
Sandy, you should be gloating, for if you were ever going to gloat, now would be the week. You took the step that the rest of us know, in our heart of hearts, is the “right” one, but never get around to doing because we’re lazy, and because, eventually, the power comes back on. Leave the power off for three weeks, and you’d see solar panels sprouting like cabbages.
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