Voltage and Irene

Well, it's not really my turn to write the blog entry first this week but my dear sister blogger has been without voltage, without power due to Irene's forceful waltz through our state.  So, I'm writing now in the hopes that by week's end she will be back on line.  I suppose you could say, it's a sort of act of kindness for me to write first.  I will call her in the morning to tell her I was moved to do this and hope it takes some pressure off.  She gets to determine whether this is kindness.

Electricity has been a prominent reality to contemplate since tropical storm Irene's entrance to our region on Sunday.  My power did go out in the morning for a brief while.  My internet, cable and phone services were down until today.  Not a big deal.  I know this because all I have to do is walk out my back door any time or look out my windows at night and I see darkness.  All my neighbors behind me have no power.  It's been three full days now.  That's a big deal.  So, I realized on Sunday I did have a way to express my gratitude for power... a vast gratitude.  I could offer outlets in my garage to my neighbors behind so they could keep their fridge on.  My neighbors were then and continue to be so thankful.  I've told them I feel guilty for having lights on at night.  The least I can do is offer my outlets.  My neighbor came over this a.m. -- a bright, vibrant, sunny morning and said she was just going to plug into my outside outlet to dry her hair.  Indeed, on my patio, in shorts and a t-shirt, she fluffed and primped with the dryer in the sun.  Did she have to take a cold or a hot shower, you wonder?  Well, her engineer hubby figured out how to hook his hot water heater up to my garage as well.  Shower was hot!

Tonight they awaited me as I arrived home.  One of the two of them had his head lamp on.  I asked what they were doing standing in the dark, leaning against the truck in their driveway.  Their answer was, "What else is there to do?"  We all laughed.  They then proceeded to thank me over and over again.  I told them to quit... they've thanked me enough.  I realized if I were in their shoes, I'd be doing the same thing.

We talked some more.  We considered how we, in our society, have gotten to a place of dependence on our water, power, technology, and fossil fuels beyond our understanding.  Is it necessary to hook up a generator to watch television?  How much food do we really need to store in our refrigerators or freezers?  How long do we need to shower?  I know I'm turning serious here.  So let me just voice this, witnessing the impact of Irene's wrath, which was not nearly as bad as it could have been, has lead me to want to share what I have and to continue to try and use less.

May sister blogger Betsy and family get back on the voltage grid soon so that she and her hubby, boys and dogs and cat can have water and power at their fingertips.
In their honor I'll continue to offer as much assistance to my neighbors as I can.  I'll also offer assistance to Betsy in the morning when I call to check in on her status.