Summertime has been extended as school is canceled in aftermath of last weekend's storm, yes, but is it worth losing power over?
Hurricane Irene, which fortunately landed in Monroe officially as a "tropical storm," has truly humbled me. You see, in the 11 years that we have been living in town, we have never lost power for any significant amount of time. Oh, we may have had a quick on-and-off again surge once in awhile but I have confidently boasted to family and friends, "I'm so happy we live on a main road because we never lose power."
This time, though, we did. Sometime between 4 a.m., when my husband finally laid his head on the pillow after feeling reassured that Hurricane Irene wasn't going to blow his children away, and 7 a.m. when our puppy Opie woke me up to demand breakfast, our electricity shut off. This is a double whammy, though, because everything in our house — including the water pump that supplies water from the well to the toilet, showers and faucets — operates via electricity.
I didn't panic at first. I simply fed the dog and went back to bed. It was dark, rainy and cold. The perfect day to sleep in, which is something I rarely do. However, I woke up around noon with a throbbing headache. My body needed — no, it demanded — caffeine.
My husband and daughter Anna joked that maybe now was a good time to kick my obvious addiction. I glared at them, then I took two extra strength Tylenols and ate lunch. Grudgingly, I spooned soupy ice cream into bowls for the kids. I was whiny and tired, though I had slept about 12 hours, and cranky. I snapped at their complaints — "Of course there is no Facebook!" — and started going stir crazy by early afternoon.
Finally, I decided to venture out in search of coffee. My husband thought I was crazy to do so, but I saw a few cars on the road. Actually, once I started driving I realized that there were many people out and about. Stop & Shop on Monroe Turnpike was open. All of the other stores where one might find a cup of good hot coffee were closed, though.
After making a huge circle — getting detoured a few times due to trees covering the roads — I made my way back to Stop & Shop. Though their coffee maker wasn't working, I learned that Dunkin' Donuts in Trumbull was open. The line was reportedly around the side of the building.
I decided to purchase a nice, big bottle of Diet Coke. Feeling a wee bit guilty, I forked over $2 to the cashier and asked,"Is this what a heroin addict acts like? I just really need my caffeine." She assured me that I was not her first customer who felt this way.
Did they all announce to their family that they absolutely would not share the bottle of soda with them, though? Because when I got back home, that's exactly what I did. Clutching the Diet Coke to my chest, I said that I planned to drink the whole bottle and not to even try to talk me out of it. They simply stared at me. Anna said that I had finally gone over the edge and she couldn't wait to move into college, which had been postponed to Monday due to Hurricane Irene. She was smiling, though.
So, what did I learn by my first experience in Monroe without power? Yes, purchase lots of batteries, non-perishable food and bottles of water in anticipation of power outage's in a storm. Also, make sure to have lots of bottles of Diet Coke around. If this winter is anything like last season's massive snowfall, I may have to buy a few cases.
News By:
monroe.patch.com
Hurricane Irene, which fortunately landed in Monroe officially as a "tropical storm," has truly humbled me. You see, in the 11 years that we have been living in town, we have never lost power for any significant amount of time. Oh, we may have had a quick on-and-off again surge once in awhile but I have confidently boasted to family and friends, "I'm so happy we live on a main road because we never lose power."
This time, though, we did. Sometime between 4 a.m., when my husband finally laid his head on the pillow after feeling reassured that Hurricane Irene wasn't going to blow his children away, and 7 a.m. when our puppy Opie woke me up to demand breakfast, our electricity shut off. This is a double whammy, though, because everything in our house — including the water pump that supplies water from the well to the toilet, showers and faucets — operates via electricity.
I didn't panic at first. I simply fed the dog and went back to bed. It was dark, rainy and cold. The perfect day to sleep in, which is something I rarely do. However, I woke up around noon with a throbbing headache. My body needed — no, it demanded — caffeine.
My husband and daughter Anna joked that maybe now was a good time to kick my obvious addiction. I glared at them, then I took two extra strength Tylenols and ate lunch. Grudgingly, I spooned soupy ice cream into bowls for the kids. I was whiny and tired, though I had slept about 12 hours, and cranky. I snapped at their complaints — "Of course there is no Facebook!" — and started going stir crazy by early afternoon.
Finally, I decided to venture out in search of coffee. My husband thought I was crazy to do so, but I saw a few cars on the road. Actually, once I started driving I realized that there were many people out and about. Stop & Shop on Monroe Turnpike was open. All of the other stores where one might find a cup of good hot coffee were closed, though.
After making a huge circle — getting detoured a few times due to trees covering the roads — I made my way back to Stop & Shop. Though their coffee maker wasn't working, I learned that Dunkin' Donuts in Trumbull was open. The line was reportedly around the side of the building.
I decided to purchase a nice, big bottle of Diet Coke. Feeling a wee bit guilty, I forked over $2 to the cashier and asked,"Is this what a heroin addict acts like? I just really need my caffeine." She assured me that I was not her first customer who felt this way.
Did they all announce to their family that they absolutely would not share the bottle of soda with them, though? Because when I got back home, that's exactly what I did. Clutching the Diet Coke to my chest, I said that I planned to drink the whole bottle and not to even try to talk me out of it. They simply stared at me. Anna said that I had finally gone over the edge and she couldn't wait to move into college, which had been postponed to Monday due to Hurricane Irene. She was smiling, though.
So, what did I learn by my first experience in Monroe without power? Yes, purchase lots of batteries, non-perishable food and bottles of water in anticipation of power outage's in a storm. Also, make sure to have lots of bottles of Diet Coke around. If this winter is anything like last season's massive snowfall, I may have to buy a few cases.
News By:
monroe.patch.com
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