Survival of the Powerless

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As far as I can remember, I’ve never had to deal with a week long power outage in the summer. Last Friday night what has now been termed a “Dericho” hit WV with a force like none other. We don’t normally get tornadoes, but this very much resembled one. Downed trees everywhere, power and cable lines split and broken.

That was a week ago today, and my electricity is still out, predicted for repair by Sunday night. Here’s some things I’ve learned from functioning powerless for a whole week.

1. You cannot hold a coherent conversation on the deck with the generator running 6 feet away.

2. What was meant to be a hot tub party deck can quickly be converted into an emergency shower deck.

3. Good thing we got Jim a gas grill for Father’s Day – it has been our only source of cooking.

4. Outdoor showers aren’t too bad, especially if they’re in a tent and the water is heated by gas.

5. The power will not come back on just because you hit the light switch every single time you enter a room.

6. Refrigerators stink (literally) after all your food rots.

7. Guys don’t mind showering outside. Girls – not so much.

8. One of my children is actually capable of taking a cold shower every single day. She didn’t know that either until this week. She refuses to use the outdoor shower.

9. Jim makes killer percolated coffee.

10. Bees start gathering pollen very early in the morning. I know this because Jim and I sit on the deck with our percolated coffee and they gather from my hostas right beside me. It’s been fascinating to watch their little “side saddles” of pollen grow.

11. People will steal anything in the dark during a power outage, including stop signs – all the while trying to keep a purse on one arm. This is a first hand eye witness account.

12. I have changed my mind concerning how I feel about my husband’s hunting camp. It is because of that camp that we had a generator for our freezer and (again) the outdoor shower. Therefore I am now in love with that camp and will support the cause wholeheartedly.

13. This one’s from my daughter Hayley: you don’t need power to put on your makeup, especially if you don’t mind a few stray orange splotches on your face (non-smoothed foundation). Also eye liner can be mistaken for concealer (think lots of dots resembling giant freckles all over your face).

14. 7 people living under one roof means you wash towels every 4 days.
This means you must go out and either find an overcrowded laundromat, or take advantage of the kindness of friends who do have power. We chose the latter.

15. People forget how to drive when there is a shortage on gas, ice, and food. As in – gun it at yellow lights and ride your ATV through the center of town like a maniac.

16. People will also knock each other out over gas and ice.

17. Regardless of numbers 15 and 16, there are still plenty of kind people out there, willing to help out a brother in need. We have been recipients of just such brotherly love from many friends this week.

18. My husband is the KING of SURVIVAL!!! Truly, he is the most resourceful, smart, and most caring person I know. As long as he’s around, we will not have to worry who’s going to take care of us.

19. When you don’t have power, your whole day consists of figuring out how to survive without it. Literally, the ENTIRE day revolves around it, from sun up to sun down, from cooking to washing to restocking and then starting all over again.

20. I wish I would have stayed at the beach.

And wouldn’t you know, now that I’ve just finished typing all this on my iPhone, Jim walks out and says, “why didn’t you just use my computer, I would have hooked up my 3G mobile hotspot with my phone?”

Sheesh. What was that I was saying about how great he was?!