Blowin’ in the Wind

We had a major windstorm Sunday afternoon—Hurricane Ike’s final hurrah, as it were--and lost power at home (and at my work) until Tuesday afternoon.

We consider ourselves to be the lucky ones, as many of our friends and coworkers and are still without power.

The Ohio tree population and house shingle population suffered tremendous losses, but there were few human injuries. Driving around, you could see an endless array of trees with tops broken off, split trees, uprooted trees, and of course tree branches all over the place. Fortunately, the small trees in our yard (and in the neighborhood) all survived, as did the shingles. The only real temporary loss in the neighborhood was a snap-together shed (that we put back together on Monday).

The kids enjoyed eating pancakes and eggs cooked on the campstove and grill,

and we parents enjoyed putting the kids to bed when it got dark at 8:30. We are certainly glad we had 3 crank-type LED lanterns, 2 crank-type LED flashlights, and 2 LED headlamps. The kids used the LED lanterns as night-lights, and by morning they were still glowing dimly.

Our neighborhood became even closer tight-knit and everyone helped everyone else as much as possible. For example, a friend called to tell us that WalMart had just gotten a shipment of ice, so Cindy and Darlene, (our neighbor),went and picked up 10 bags or so and distributed it to neighbors. We even had a ‘block dinner party’ Monday, with everyone bringing stuff from their slowly warming fridges and freezers to cook on the grill, etc.




We fared better than most (our main freezer stayed frozen), but some things we learned include:
1) Always keep that extra propane tank full.
2) Always have an extra gas container (so that you always have some if you need to run chainsaws, etc.—assuming, of course, that you have the right oil to mix with the gas....)
3) In a long-term emergency you will be sharing your food storage with neighbors in need—so what really constitutes a ‘year’s supply?’
4) An old-style phone that doesn’t rely on electricity is a lifesaver. (Our neighbor in our previous neighborhood had given us one of his extra ones a couple years ago, and it has come in handy many a time!) Cell phones are also very handy.
5) When everyone is in the same boat, you see the inherent goodness in people come out, and people are more likely to initiate conversations with total strangers.

More later, I’m sure.....