This evening our electric was out for roughly 3 hours. I guess someone unfortunately hit a pole or something of that nature. It was right before supper time...just a tad before sundown. I had a meatloaf in the oven, table was set, salad was made, and my two children were playing like a couple of blood drunk indians in the family room. My wife was working late tonight,so she wouldn't be home until 1:30 am. So it's just me, the two young simpletons, and a dark house. At first my thoughts were "crap!!" ..no lights, no tv, no oven, and surely no micowave. What to do?? Well, first I grabbed a couple of coleman lanterns from the cellar, and fired those babies up in the kitchen. The kiddos were already at full attention. Not a breath could go unheard in our quiet dwelling. Even Cooper, our mindless cocker spanial, was staring at me with those glassy sleep filled eyes, wondering what the hell was going on. The meatloaf got tossed in a frying pan, and was warmed up rather easily on the gas stovetop(lit with a match..and not the ohh so convienent electric spark). My son Carlo asked.."Daddy, why is the little tv on the counter not working"? All I could see was the glow of his cute little face as he scoffed down the garlic filled roast. My daughter as well, she was happy as a lark eating slices of cherry tomatoes in the dark kitchen. Then when the two were done eating and were excused, they played hide and seek ...but as quietly as ever, and in the dark. I just couldn't believe it. They were the two happiest and well behaved blood drunk indians a father could have. Once I made my way to the family room(lantern in hand) to sit down, Carlo and Emily joined me, right by my feet on the floor. I set down the lantern and picked up the book Where the Wild Things Are, and read to them. Even though my son knows the story by heart, tonight it was completely new to him. The "ADD" was right out the window. It was just a lantern, a book, and the subtle glow of two childrens faces. In that instant...the lights, the power, the tv's, the hum of the dishwasher, the rumbling of the furnice in the basement, and beeping of interrupted clocks filled the house. It was back to normal.... ...or was it??
We have become so dependent on electricity and I'm not complaining. Job security. How many times did you flip the light switches "on" out of habit even though you were out? It gets me everytime. :D
Same thing happened to me once. I gave my then 5 year old daughter her own flashlight and you could have sworn I have her a pony, the fun she had with that was worth the whole power outage thing.
The answer is a Guardian whole house generator. LOL When the power goes off here I just turn on one of my many big lights and grab a book, turn on the battery radio and relax. That said, I've been looking at a whole house generator for my house. The only reason I want one is I remember when I lost power for a week in Maryland... I lost a lot of venison. Ticked me off.
