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Any ideas on coping when the lights go out? Street Prophets Coffee Hour on Sunday [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-07-16

Welcome to Street Prophets Coffee Hour, where politics meets up with religion, art, science, nature, and life. Come in, take a cuppa and a cookie or three, and join us.

As I told Marko the Werelynx in Friday’s Street Prophets diary, I was one of the many who lost power in the storm that came across the midwest that afternoon. I’ve arranged for text notices when there is a power outage, and I got one within a few minutes (not seconds). The estimated time to restore power was about 2 hours. I seriously doubted that. There was thunder and lightning, and the wind was predicted to be about 80mph. The temperature had been in the upper 90s but the house was still coolish from the air conditioning (you know, that air conditioning that wasn’t working without power). So I dozed off in my computer chair.

I woke in time to give cats their treats on schedule, then I checked the power outage map on my phone. Forget the 2 hours. I got this unpleasant message, instead.

Whoa! “Multiday restoration effort”? And the 130,000 customers grew to 198,000 the next time I checked. So things weren’t going to be working again anytime soon.

I have severe cardiac issues. I have a battery pack that can run my CPAP and charge my phone, good for maybe two nights. I can manage in winter, unless it’s well below zero. I have two fireplaces and a woodburning stove. My water heater is electric, but I can heat water on that stove and use a camp shower to shower. But I must have air conditioning in summer. My heart can’t take the heat.

By this time, the outside temperatures were in the 70s. Okay, fine. I could make it through the one night. Not great, but I won’t likely die. Unlike many neighbors, I have rural water, which works like your city water, only we’re rural and it’s a private company. So I had water. The neighbors who are on wells have electric pumps, so they would be without water, too, for all those days. But if it went beyond the night, I’d have to go to a hotel, coming home twice a day to check on cats.

I got out my candles and lighters. I had cold food to eat, because it’s summer and that’s what I do, so I would be fed. I have enough fresh and canned food so I could eat for a couple of weeks because I always keep food on hand like that. My biggest regrets were 1) no laptop so I couldn’t get any work done on my latest novel; and 2) I don’t own a physical deck of cards so I couldn’t waste time playing Solitaire. I called a neighbor who has a well and offered access to my water, started to fix dinner (by now it’s 7PM), and I heard a beep. The light on the air fryer was on! I had power! Crisis averted.

So what are your plans for when you lose power? List it all below.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/16/2181473/-Any-ideas-on-coping-when-the-lights-go-out-Street-Prophets-Coffee-Hour-on-Sunday

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