 The Night The Lights Went Out… Posted by Suzanne Ferrell Jul 28 2012, 12:26 am
Recently I’ve had the pleasure or not of having no power for at least 24 hours…TWICE! What a reality check that was. Amazing how I’ve come to depend on electricity for so much in my daily routine. First and foremost… AIR CONDITIONING!! Which given that I live in Texas, is very, very, very important to my ability to sleep! Given I sleep during the day for work at night…this is a necessity, not a frivolous item. My dh, the smart alec, said “Didn’t you use to sleep at night with no air conditioning? Just open windows?” Duh, yes, but we had ELECTRIC FANS to create a breeze. He wisely didn’t say anymore!
Light. When we were in Ohio during the big power outage, we had no power for four days. Luckily, Mom had just bought these three little battery powered lanterns a few months earlier. How cool was that? We could see to maneuver through the house, sit and talk, even work the giant jigsaw puzzle on the dining room table. Even if you don’t go camping or live in a hurricaine prone state, I’d suggest buying a few of these, much safer than a house full of burning candles. *Here’s a link to the lanterns.* http://www.bombayharbor.com/Product/22647/Led_Hurricane_Lanterns_Battery_Hurricane_Lanterns.html Electronics. We were able to charge our phones with car chargers. Another good thing since the phones went down with the power. I kept my iPad off to conserve it’s charge except at night when I was reading. Now here’s where modern technology really came in handy. Even with the power out and no real light to read by…thanks to my Kindle ap on both the iPad and my phone…I COULD STILL READ!! YAHOO!!
Silence. Now here was something you don’t realize. How much ambient noise there is due to electricity. No air conditioning fan or the turning on and off of said air conditioning. No refrigerator running. No hum of the computers. No noise from the TV. Yet, once you have all those sounds eliminated you start hearing things you hadn’t heard in a while. Crickets. Dogs barking late at night. The train whistle not too far from the house. Snoring. The rustle of the leaves with the occasional burst of wind.
Some of these things were a major inconvenience, even a health hazzard. (Second time I’ve been at my mother’s in the past year that I’ve had to clean out a freezer/frig!) Others were inspiring. See as a writer of historical westerns I have to use my imagination to write things how they sounded or how they functioned in a time before electricity in the homes. NOW I can do it from experience! (Would much rather have my air conditioning than a learning lesson!)
So, have you ever had the power go out for a night? 24 hours? Four days? Longer? How did your family handle it? Did you do anything fun? Learn anything? Since I’m going to RWA this week and will be bringing extra swag and books home with me, how about a little, “wish I could’ve gone too” bag of goodies for two commenters? (Will include some Lacy Morgan stuff, too!) TweetPosted in Air Conditioning, Crickets, Power outage, RWA National goodies, Silence, Storms, Suzanne Ferrell Comments51 thoughts on “The Night The Lights Went Out…” |
  
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We have been so fortunate not to experience power outages lasting longer than maybe 10-12 hours? Usually the ones we’ve been in have been just a couple hours–long enough to require resetting all the clocks and other devices, but not so long as to create more than an annoying inconvenience! I know we are soooo dependent on electricity–it’s such a bummer when it’s out for so many reasons! Usually we go about our non-electronic business and wait it out. Thankfully the kids love reading
Hope you’re having a fantastic time at RWA! One of these years I hope to make it to one!
We hope you make it one year too, Fedora!
Don’t you find you always miss one clock? For us, it’s always the clock for the heating/air-con!
Hey, Fedora!!
The longest we’d ever gone without power before this summer was about 12 hours, too. We would play board games by candle light with the kids.
I hope you make an RWA conference some time, too! I’d love to meet you!
Oh yes, I have and that sucks. We were out of power sometime in 2005, in Louisiana for about a week. Just because a transformer exploded. What sucked was across the street had power. It was a terrible year for storms. We didn’t have as much electronically stuff as we do now, but it still suck. Plus my husband was working nights which nothing to help my nerves.
OMG Melody May! A week! Even worse to have your neighbours with power, when you didn’t have any!
Hey, Melody! A whole week? That sure beats out 4days! And having to weather it without your hubby at night? I’d have been listening
Crap hit enter before I was done!
I’d have been listening to every creek and moan the house made and gotten no sleep!!
At countryside we’ve had the power go out for a night, 24 hours and for days due to snow, storm or thunder storm. How do we handle it? Depends on the season. At winter we don’t have to worry about food going bad: in the wood shed and outbuilding it’s cold enough. To prepare food and to keep ourselves warm we heat up the sauna.
LOL Minna – you Scandinavians with your saunas – they’re obviously great for all sorts of things!
As far as I know, sauna is much more common in Finland than in other Nordic countries. (And sauna is a Finnish word).
Hey, Minna!!
Love the sauna in winter idea. Unfortunately, when we were in Ohio for the first power outtage, it felt like trying to sleep in a sauna!!
Well, at summer it can be like living in a sauna here as well. Like it has been today.
It’s been about six years since we experienced a blackout. I think it affected the whole eastern seaboard. It last a couple of days, but we had enough food and water and candles. It was during a heatwave, so we just tried to stay cool in the dark.
I remember that, Jane. It was terrible. We weren’t home at the time and were worried about our cats with no air con. Luckily, our cat sitter kept all the curtains and shades closed, so the house was cool.
Hey, Jane!
A couple of days without power is a long time, isn’t it? We tried to stay cool in the dark, but it would’ve helped if there had been a breeze of some kind. Nope. No breeze in Ohio and no breeze in Texas!!
I remember once when the lights went out and it was in August and along with it the a/c. I was at the uncomfortable stages of my second pregnancy and I had a very grouchy baby who had a bad rash from something he ate. We found alot of good uses for lemonade and alot of things to do with a deck of cards.
Poor you, Gail – bad enough to be without power, but no air con when pregnant … uggh! Poor baby too!
Hey, Gail!
Pregnant and an irritable baby with no a/c? You poor thing! That really sucks!! So what did you learn to do with thlemonade?
How well I know the feeling of not having electricity especially since I live on the Texas Coast where we get hurricanes and wild storms…both of which leave us “in the dark”.
I suppose you’re prepared for the black-outs, Ellen if they happen often?!
Hey, Ellen!
Yep, I see you guys south and east of us getting hit with the storms and no power. When we lived on Florida’s Gulf coast we’ d get our power knocked out occasionally, but not more than a day at most. AND we always seemed to have a breeze.
When I was a child we seemed to lose the power at least once each Summer because of storms. My Father would just get the kerosene lamps out.
It was never scary or much of an inconvenience really. We would sit around talking until it was late enough (or we were bored enough) for bed.
Sounds romantic with the kerosene lamps, Mary. Wonder what kids today would do without their electronics!
Hey, Mary!
Once when we were kids visiting my grandparents in Tennessee the power went out and out came the kerosene lamps. We sat on the front porch, talked and sang old gospel song accapella. Was fun and I learned my sister can sing, but only what she’s hearing others sing!! Hehehe
omg got really bad storm here put tree on my house was without power for 7 days thank god for books and flashlights
thanks for the chance
Wow, Tammy – glad you were all safe! Hope the damage to the house wasn’t too bad. Must have been very scary.
Hey Tammy!
Wow, so glad no one was hurt with the tree on the house! Thank goodness for the flashlights, huh?
Missing all my buds at RWA in Anaheim! Give them all big hugs for me, Suz!
We don’t tend to get power cuts over here (and I’m too young to really remember the power strikes of the 70s!). When we lived in NJ we suffered a few – but for no more than 12 hours.
The worst was when we were in SF for RWA and the hotel lost power. Being on a high floor that meant no water and no working toilet! It was resolved fairly quickly but we had to shower in the local health club!
Hey, Anna!
We miss you all, too!
it isn’t the same without you guys and running into a Bandit or Buddy every time I turn a corner!!
My power was out for a week and some things still didn’t work right even when the power came back on, like cable. At the time I had my son and two preteen girls that couldn’t watch cable…… ugh.
My son and I went to BF house (He had air) and my daughter, granddaughter, and her friend went to stepbrother’s.
After power came on couldn’t find groceries for over a week, that was fun too. Luckily I had gotten gas the day after the power went out, even the gas stations were out of power so couldn’t pump gas.
It’s funny what you don’t realise will be affected, Dianna – like gas pumps.
We had the power go out for only 5 hours a few weeks ago after a bad storm. Luckily, it wasn’t hot and we had already eaten lunch.
BUT, we did have a really, really bad ice storm in February about 5 years ago
8i live in Iowa and we usually have cold, snowy winters). The power went off around 2 p.m. on a Saturday and didn’t come back on until Thursday night after 8. We camped out in the basement where the water heater was because it is gas and provided some warmth. We hooked up to a neighbor’s generator for 2 hours on Monday night, but only 1/2 an hour thereafter, just enough to warm the house. The National Guard brought in water to our town and we ate meals down at the Legion where the Red Cross served warm food. Some people in the country were without power for over 3 weeks.
It was fun camping out that first night, but wasn’t fun by that Thursday! It was so dark in the house except for candles. Luckily, I had bought a “computer”/battery operated game device for my daughter’s birthday a month early (I never shop early!), so I got that out of hiding and that kept her occupied every night while the rest of us were bored to tears!
Sounds terrible, Deb – poor you! I’m sure the ‘fun’ does wear off after the first day. At least with heat, you can get cool. But when it’s cold – there doesn’t seem to be a way to get warm. I remember our boiler going a few years ago and it was horrid! Boiling water on the stove for baths was an experience!
Suz
I have not had the power go out for more than a few hours at a time which is good for us but I would still be able to read with my e reader as well which would be fine by me LOL.
Although when I was young we used to on holidays to my grandparents hobby farm and for the first few years there was no power just 2 tin sheds like camping and it was fun, but I don’t think I would cope real well without the air con in summer.
I bet you are having fun at RWA one day I would love to get there myself
Have Fun
Helen
BTW I finished Kidnapped the other night awesome story love Jake
When I was young – in the 1980′s – we used to have power shortages. So, we’d have times where we were eating dinner in the dark and didn’t have tv overnight.
Or I’d leave school at 3:10pm and the power would be on… by the time I’d get home, they’d have switched it off at 3:30pm and we wouldn’t have power until the next morning.
So, in my family we all had a batter-run tape-deck, torch and our school ports packed early in the night so that we could find them in the dark – if needs be.
This was because we had a politician who thought we would benefit from power shortages… strange but true. Being so young, I never understood this; and still don’t. But seeing how our politicians are now here in Queensland, it looks like we’re going to see them come back!
Until a few years back, about 3 years ago, whenever there was a storm approaching, if the power grid down the road from my house even caught sight of lightning, our lights would go out… and not just for about an hour. We’d have no power for a night! So, most of the places around here in Logan have gas stoves and hot water systems for this reason… and I’m grateful for that as, if my lights go out, I can still cook a good meal at home or make a pot of tea and hot chocolate.
And when they do go out, the darkness usually gives me time to get in and do some serious reading – as I have a good reading light to use – and I get an early night too.
We had a tornado come within a half mile of our house in 1992 (Wisconsin) We had no power for over a week.
Hurricanes two in Sept 2004 ( Stuart, Florida) We were without power for a long, long time . We had to eventually move to my mom’s place.
I missed showers, flush toilets, refrigerator, hot water, drinking water from the sink faucet, ability to wash your hands, brush your teeth, temperature control, phone, microwave, food in stores, so many perishables had to be thrown out and restocked, lights to read with, lights to do anything, no radio, no TV, no computer.
We barbequed on a grill, bought bottled water, went to the bathroom outside if possible…
It’s been several years since we lost power for more than an hour or two. (knock on wood) When I was a kid, we’d lose power a lot during thunderstorms. My mom would get out the kerosene lamps and we’d all gather in the living room where my dad would entertain us with ghost stories.
Back in the 80s, the dh and I owned 6 acres in the country that we planned to build a house on. Many weekends we’d head out there Friday afternoon after work and stay until Sunday night. We slept in a tent, cooked over an open fire pit and had no electricity. We even built a large storage building on the property, cutting the wood by hand (no electricity!). I have no desire to live that way on a permanent basis but have to say it was wonderful to unplug for those weekends.
The last time we lost power for a while was when the hurricane came through the northeast last year. When morning came and we still had power it was pretty amazing since most people didn’t have power. I should have cooked up a bunch of food since by the end of the morning power was gone. We got it back the next day which we were thankful for since many people waited for days.
We are fortunate to have never had any power problems where we live. No weather related problems since it is in a relatively hidden area.
Thanks for stopping by everyone! I’ll try to pop back in a bit later, but I’m off to a seminar I didn’t want to miss today. Oh and yeah….MORE BOOKS!!!
We have had a couple of good shows of thunder and lightning this summer, but have not had much rain and have lost not power. For which I am grateful… It seems to have been all around us, but by the Grace of God, we have been spared…
Due to ice storms, I’ve lost power twice for over a week in winter. I had no heat and no electricity. Since the sump pump wasn’t working, I also had a basement full of water. I’ve lost power several times in the summer, too. One instance lasted several days. As much as I dislike the heat, it was tougher in the winter.
We lost power during hurricane Irene. Fortunately my boyfriend lives in the house behind mine so we ran an extension cord from his house to mine to run the fridge. And we have lots of flashlights. We were able to BBQ and cook at his house. Power was out for about three days while they dried the electric substation.
The longest we have gone without power was about 24 hours. It was during the winter and was cold outside and inside. We sat in front of the fireplace to keep warm.
We had 5 days outage and it was in winter but thank goodness it wasn’t extreme weather so we managed. We’ve had 5 days in the summer which meant the food had to go. One year for Christmas we gave everyone in our family lanterns and they have come in extremely handy. Just last week our printer got zapped when the electricity was going on and off. Once a long time ago that happened to our new TV and we eventually got the electric co. to pay for the repair but the TV totally went not long after but of course we couldn’t prove that was why.
Suz -
We were out of power for eleven and a half hours during that storm. Most of those hours were at night. We rarely lose power for more than an hour or two, so we just waited – thinking any minute now that power would surge back. While it was brutal trying to sleep without fans or air conditioning, sitting out on the porch was actually pleasant. I remember thinking – this is why so many women were encouraged to learn to play a musical instrument, or sing during the nineteenth century (and earlier). What else did one do at night for entertainment? (Besides THAT LOL – I imagine the number of pregnancies will surge after that storm left so many people with nothing else to do but go to bed).
Luckily, I have never experienced being out of power for more than a day. It could be scary especially if one was a child living in a bad neighborhood and the neighbors looted and rioted all night. A friend who lives in the mountains has a generator just in case the electricity goes off. I keep flashlights and candles around just in case, although the last couple of times the power went out, I just drove to another neighborhood, one that still had power, to buy dinner and such.
Suz, what a pain about the blackouts. I remember when I was at university, there was major industrial trouble here in Queensland. The very right-wing premier was having a showdown with the electricity unions and the results were that I spent a lot of my time studying for final exams by candlelight. Perhaps that’s what turned me into a historical writer – all that empathy for people writing by those flickering little flames! Hope you’re having fun at RWA. I’m so sad I’m not there too. It’s been wonderful hearing about it all from social media – wonderful and teeth-gnashing but that’s OK!
Good luck to all the Golden Heart and RITA finalists tonight, especially our super talented Madame, Christina Brooke. Christina’s wonderful HEIRESS IN LOVE is up for best Regency. Hurrah!
The power’s gone out. We went to bed early.
Have fun at RWA!
Power outages were common in our neighborhood until the stupid neighbor finally had a tree cut down.. Every time we got some wind, heavy rain or snow.. the tree would drop limbs onto the power line.. which only affected about 7 households.. Then the power company would come and she’d whine about how they wouldn’t cut more limbs off the tree… hello… it’s the power company.. not a tree service..!!
We’ve been lucky [or smart] to always have a gas stove and fireplaces… and the power has gone off, but not for weeks at a time…