Okay.

So, last week, we here in The Nutmeg
State, (that's Connecticut, for you of the Great Unwashed), got
whacked by Hurricane Irene.

And,
okay, maybe it wasn't an actual hurricane by the time it hit us, all
right? Maybe it was just a tropical
storm,
but it will do until a real hurricane comes along!

We
got the crap beaten out of us with about four inches of rain and
seventy mile-an-hour winds almost all day on Sunday, August 28^th.
We lost power at my house at 11:46 in the morning on that day, and we
didn't get it back until the next Sunday, September 4^th,
at 8:03 p.m. That's 176 hours and 17 minutes without power.

I
was so pissed! The winds began blowing in earnest around 7 a.m. By 11:30, I started
breathing sighs of relief, thinking that we were going to make it.
And then . . .

WHAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No freaking power.

I kept saying how nice it was not have electricity. How quiet it was.
How peaceful.

Yeah? Well, guess what?

That was just pure and unadulterated bullshit!

I wanted power! I lusted for power! I vehemently hated everybody else who had power!

Especially after the fifth or sixth day, the role of Charles Ingalls
was really getting old.

The pioneers must have stunk, huh? No running water. No deodorant.
No being “Zestfully clean” with Zest.

Back then, if they were lucky, they took a bath once a week. And the
man of the house got to use the water first. The same tub of water
was used by every other member of the household too. (The expression
“Don't throw the baby out with the bath water” came from the fact
that the youngest children back then were the last to bathed in the
same water as everybody else. So, by that time, the water was no
longer transparent. Kinda gross, huh?)

Can't figure out how they had such huge families! How could they
stand to get that close to each other?

To be perfectly honest, the first couple of days without electricity
actually were nice. I really liked the tranquility. I liked looking
up into the sky at night and seeing more stars than I've ever seen in
Connecticut due to the fact that they were not obscured by the glare
of lights on Earth. I liked going out to eat every night because we
didn't have water to wash the dishes.

Also,I liked the silence in the house. It's amazing how many things
in the average day make sounds that, for the most part, we are not
even aware of because we've become so conditioned to them: the
refrigerator, the ceiling fans, even electric clocks.

However, this sweet, bucolic bliss lasted only for a couple of days.
Then, things started to get a little tough.

Life without electricity is cumbersome. If you want to do
anything after the sun goes down, you need to carry your light source
with you. No wonder the pioneers got up and went to bed with the sun!
Moving around at night without electricity is just a huge pain in the
ass!

(Here in Connecticut, we are not equipped to function without
electricity. We are dependent on it for water, to keep our food from
spoiling, and contact with the outside world.)

When we got power back on September 4^th, I spent the whole
going around switching on and off every light and electrical
appliance that I could find . . . just because I could.

Another big problem with losing power is that, if you are on a well,
you lose water. This is particularly worrisome if you have animals.

A day before Bitch Irene spread her arms out and embraced my state, I
filled up two bathtubs in our house, (I forgot about the third one.),
the horse's water trough, the pony's water trough, the hot tub, and
every bucket and Tupperware container I could get my hands on.

It's funny how hygiene standards get lowered the longer you go
without electricity! Imagine washing out water glasses by dunking
them into a bathtub filled with four-day-old water out of which two
dogs and two cats drink! (Yup! I did that!)

It's amazing how all-pervasive electricity is! How much a part of our
lives it is! How much we take it for granted. Even after six days
without power, I would still walk into a room and immediately flick
the light switch. Or I'd have a question about something and
instinctively think, I'll just go and Google it. Or I'd want
to warm up a plate of food and catch myself walking in the direction
of the microwave.

One of the happiest days of my life was this past Sunday when I saw
Power Company crews working on the downed telephone poles on our
street. (Our electric company, Connecticut Light and Power, did not
have enough line crews of their own to cope with the over 900,000
customers without power. So they called in crews from states as far
away as Florida, Canada and even Washington.

When I saw the men working on our power lines, I went out to them and
asked, “When do you think we'll have our power restored?”

One of them looked at me and said, “Where y'all live?”

I told him, and he scratched his head and said, “Lordy! Ah reckon
Ah ain't quite sure when y'all will get the juice back! Pretty soon,
Ah think.”

I smiled back at him and said, “You're not from around here, are
you?”

We both laughed, and he told me that he and his crew were from
Kentucky!

Today is our fifth day in a row with power. It feels good.

Electricity is my friend.