Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Rain Days-Power Failure

I had a very busy yet very thought provoking day yesterday so I thought I would share it with you. I got up for work, knowing it was going to rain & went about my day trying to find work for the guys that work with me & keep them inside during the storm which is not always an easy task since most of what w do is outside.
I worked on reports for meetings & updating manuals as most any day but then the fun began. I had to be at Angels Camp at 4:00 to coach a 5th grade girls basketball game with my niece, The power went out about 5 minutes into the game so we waited about 20 minutes & then cancelled the game, the whole while it was a down pour of rain. I had to be in Arnold at 5:00 for a birthday party for a friend of mine, so I hurried up the mountain through sheets of water cascading across the highway. I got to the party & gave my gift, visited for about 40 minutes & then had to be at a work meeting at 6:00 in Murphys so I rushed down the mountain through the same rain & road problems as before encountered. I was going to visit a friend who is having some health problems on the way to meeting but could only manage a phone call.
I made it to the meeting which was held by flashlight & lamp because of the continued power outage which made it more of a camping experience around the camp fire but after 2 hours we were able to leave. I got home a little after 8:00 to a home with no power & the rain still crashing down onto the roof. My wife was reading a book by head lamp & had kept the fire going so the house was toasty. I ate dinner & visited with my wife for awhile & then began reading a backpacking magazine. After about an hour I realized that I was tired & bored so I went to bed at 9:30, which wouldn't seem like a big deal except for the fact that I only sleep about 6 hours & that is why I go to bed between 11:00 & midnight. I wake up at about 6:15 every day whether I have an alarm clock or not but on this night I was awake by 2:30 & there was no chance I would be sleeping again on this night so I woke up & found the power on, so I went in the other room & turned a movie on & stayed awake until I left for work at 6:45.
I guess my point of this little story is, most of us are not farmers or ranchers & do not go to bed at 9:00 or get up at 3:00AM so what are we supposed to do when the power goes out?
We aren't use to conversing for hours or sitting in silence on a cold rainy night with no electricity so does that make us un sociable or lacking in creativity? I don't know what it means but I know that even though I can amuse myself pretty easily, if my routine is broken, it becomes a lot more difficult.
I hope the power is on tonight because I don't want to be watching another movie or reading a book at 4AM while everyone else is snoozing away.

1 comment:

Laurie Powers said...

I was exhausted just reading about your day - only because I know the distance between those towns. No, we are all used to being entertained now by electronic means - tv, radio, movies, computer. Just sitting or just reading a book is a novelty nowadays and I know a lot of people can't handle it.