The Power Is Out!

We recently had some severe storms in the area that knocked our electricity out.  Our house is at the end of the line for the local electric co-op.  That means we're the first to lose power and the last to get it back.  It's the price we pay in return for living out in the country.

I remember as a boy the excitement I would feel when the lights went out.  It meant that my brother and I got to pretend that we were back in the "old timeys" as we called it.  The big thunderstorms always seemed to roll through late in the afternoon, and if we were lucky the power would stay off until after we went to bed.  No power = no water, so we didn't have to take a bath.  As it would begin to get dark, Mama would light an old hurricane lantern, and she and Daddy would sit around and tell us "old timey" stories.

In the early 90's, we had what the media labeled "The Storm of the Century."  This was a blizzard that made it all the way into south Georgia in early March.  I don't remember there being a lot of snow, but the wind was at hurricane levels for about three days.  And cold!  It was unbelievably cold.  The electricity was off for several days, and our home became the defacto meeting place for our extended family due to one simple fact - Mama had the only gas stove, so our house was where the food was!  What a great time we had, sleeping in a frozen little house under piles of blankets and quilts.  School was canceled, so it was one big play time for us children.

Of course, as I have gotten older, the novelty of being instantly thrown back into the 19th century has worn off.  The lack of almost every modern convenience, even for a very short time, gets old in a hurry.  We're so accustomed to air conditioning, refrigeration, and lights that we hardly know how to function without them.  You've heard the old Ben Franklin saying, "No one misses the water until the well goes dry?"  Let me offer you a new one.  "No one appreciates a light switch until the power goes out."

Now it's your turn! What does your family do when the power goes off?  Do you have any memories of extended power outages?  Thanks again for reading, and I look forward to your comments.