Life in the 21st Century

The dis-oriented author is  a man of his times. I grew up in the late Twentieth Century with all the modern conveniences. Now I did spend some time on Guam before my grandfather was on city power and water. Even then an electrical generator and two cisterns so we had running water and flush toilets.

When my other came to the States from Guam in the fifties, it was her American roomate who had an outhouse while her house on Guam had a real toilet.

But this week when the ice storms hit — we were thrown back into the Nineteenth Century, sort of.

It was a Saturday. I had barely made it in from Denver the night before and we drove my daughter through freezing rain to a choir concert. When we got out there was half and inch of ice on our car windows. By the afternoon, there was almost an inch of ice in some places. I had just gotten through saying, "Good thing our power lines are underground." I had no sooner said it than the lights went out.

At first it seemed like an adventure, but soon it began to get cold. The only flashlight in the house was a single AAA Mini Maglight I keep in my computer bag. Eventually we found some candles and a fireplace lighter. Next, I decided to light the gas fireplace. Everyone's spirits lifted at the thought of the light and warmth. But it was not to be so, the same winds that blew down power lines and left hundreds of thousands without power in the midwest, kept blowing out our fireplace.

By the next day the storm had passed but the damage had been done. We had spent a night huddled up under covers. The next day the house was getting colder. I put the gas grill and a propane camp stove on the porch and cooked a hot meal. It was getting into the low 60s and  we did what any pioneer family would do when faced with a crisis — we checked into a luxury hotel. One day without power and we head to the concierge lounge and the pool. Oh well, it was an adventure for the kids.