Lights Out

Monday July 11th, 2011 - Kenosha, WI

   And then…the lights went out. There’s something I didn’t expect - and I bet none of the other 800,000 households that lost power in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin did either. But they did. It only took a few minutes to go from business as usual to stone age.

   I was intending to return home from my friend Jerry Agar‘s house yesterday, but his son Cooper needed a ride to a youth camp he was working at and the least I could do was take him. Their whole family opened their home to me, and I felt I needed to partially pay back the favor. Jerry’s wife Ann was working and there was no other way for him to get there.

   He woke me up about 7:15 and we got in my car and noticed some of the most ominous black clouds I’ve ever seen. Then the rain started and in an instant we were in a storm that seemed to come out of nowhere. My car was blowing all over the road, and it was a scary ride all the way up Highway 14 from Cary, IL to Crystal Lake. Nobody expected any of it.

   It took way longer than it should have to get back, as there were traffic lights blown out all over the place. That’s always frustrating, and to make it worse there were also downed trees and branches everywhere which turned a small summer storm into complete chaos.

   I could see power was out at all the gas stations, and also in the businesses on Highway 14. Traffic was jammed and it was like a war zone with everyone fending for themselves to navigate their way through intersections, nobody knowing exactly who to let go first.

   When I got back to Jerry’s house, the large tree in his front yard had been ripped out by the roots and was blocking the front door. The power was out, and the automatic garage door opener wasn’t working so getting into the house was an issue. Who expected this?

   We eventually got in the house but it got hotter the longer the air conditioning was off and after a while it was like a toaster oven. The food in the freezer was thawing out and it made me a little concerned because I have to refrigerate my insulin after it gets opened.

   I packed up some of my stuff and drove back to my place in Fox Lake, but there wasn’t any power there either and it looked like more of a war Zone than where Jerry lives. I saw a lot more damage and there was a downed tree a block from where I live that blocked the entire street. I had to go all the way around the back way to get home, but it was no use.

   Driving around, it really got my attention just how spoiled we are as a nation. We’re so used to everything going right, that a little problem sends us into major panic. How much insanity would there be if the power went out for a week? I’m afraid to even imagine it.

   I drove up to Kenosha and got a hotel room on Highway 50. I got the very last room and was glad to get it. I didn’t necessarily need the expense, but sleeping in an air conditioned room and having a shower seemed more important so I invested in myself. With all that’s happened in the last few weeks, this just adds to the fun. Am I getting ‘punked’ by life?

Posted via email from Dobie Maxwell's "Dented Can" Diary