We are on day two of the power outage and still there are over 700,000 of us without power. As I look out my library window it is pitch black as far as I can see. Periodically I see a car headlight or two. We must be the only one for miles with a generator. My view is over a lake with houses in between us and the lake and then on the other side of the ridge normally bright with house lights.

The parents spent yesterday and then the night at our house as temps dropped to 31 degrees. Mom and I emptied their freezer and refrigerator into ours so that hundreds of dollars of food wouldn’t go bad. I’ve waited for my neighbors to come knocking but it looks like some of them went to a motel someplace. I also think there are some people who only have wireless phones in their house which doesn’t work if the power goes out. We have three ‘antique’ phones that are still tethered by a cord. They are the only phones besides our cell phones that work during a power outage.

Suzy and I have about two months of food at any given time which is good because we’d have to go pretty far to find an open grocery store and gas station with this power outage in effect. The power company estimated that it will be five days before some of get back on the power grid. This happened to us went we lived in Kent over 12 years ago and that is why we own a generator.

Today I’ll take the generator offline for an hour to check the oil and hook up the replacement trickle charger. I wonder if owning and maintaining a generator is a genetic thang. Because both my brothers have generators or have owned them in the past. It’s nice that three of my parents’ five kids live within ten miles of each other.

Postnote: The power came back around 4 PM. It’s amazing what things we take for granted in life. A day later the grocery stores are still bare but say that by tomorrow (Monday) the trucks will be back to restock the shelves.