Adventure

Although my name is right up there on the list of those who cannot do without their creature comforts, I have decided to look at my recent situation as an adventure.  An adventure that entails no cell phone service (for one of the days), no electricity, and the pioneer practice of heating things on a stove ­– boiling coffee (purchased at a rare, operating Dunkin Donuts) and making huge pots of boiling water to heat bathwater.  Also included in this experience – having to choose meals and snacks from an ice-packed cooler from various foodstuffs that would soon be ready for disposal.  Okay, not exactly equivalent to pioneer days, but pretty rough for me.

Last Thursday, June 23^rd, from 6pm to 6:30 pm, a storm ripped through areas of South Jersey that caused widespread destruction and power outages that affected approximately 280,000 homes.  Joe was en route home from work, carefully picking his way around tree- blocked and debris-strewn streets.  Branches brushed his car as he watched trees fall in the vicinity of “too close for comfort.” I was cuddled on our old sofa in the basement with our dog as the power flickered and electricity became a distant memory.  After I watched our patio furniture swirl, and our heavy gas grill slide and dive-bomb onto the lawn, I took cover with Libby. 

The reports indicate that it was, in fact, not a tornado.  Apparently, the lines of forceful winds were straight, not funnel-shaped.  But my mind screamed tornado.  Remembering when I lived in Kansas City, Missouri, and worked in a glass tower called Hallmark Cards, Inc., I recalled a few tornado warnings issued over the loudspeaker to employees.  We were instructed to move to the inside of the building, away from windows.  All the KC transplants, myself included, quickly followed suit, while the midwest natives stood at the windows and watched for the twister’s arrival.  Luckily, thankfully, I moved back to the relative calm (?) of east coast weather before I ever saw a tornado materialize.

We got our power restored in blinks and sputters on Thursday night, well ahead of the Atlantic City Electric Company’s initially predicted time of Saturday, noon. 

It’s been an adventure in devastation as I drive through nearby neighborhood streets.  Massive, old trees, uprooted, lying on their towering sides, lifted chunks of earth and sidewalk with their exposed roots.  Some stores are not operating even still; major supermarkets will need to restock all the spoilage.  The restaurants that were unaffected and open during the outage did booming businesses serving those who patronized them by necessity.

All in all, we were very lucky.  We had no major damage to speak of, only a few broken tree branches.  A neighbor’s tree fell onto the back of our fence, which we are scheduled to have replaced in a couple of weeks anyway.  I took a lot of the food from the fridge and freezer and stored it at a friend’s house in another town.  I charged my cell phone and iPad at her home as well.  The duration of the ordeal was really only slightly over two days without power.  And both our kids' homes were unaffected.  It just seemed worse when going through it.

After the storm clouds.

Our back yard -- sunset.