Recently I declared that the worst part of growing old is that the same things happen again and again. Cooking meals, celebrating holidays and birthdays, cleaning out closets, and other repetitive events made me feel I was caught in a do-loop.
I never should have said it because ever since I've had one unpleasant new experience after another. Recently it's been a car that wouldn't start in wet weather. Yesterday the Honda dealership repaired that problem. Today temperatures fell into the low twenties -- rare in Galveston -- and there's no electricity in Sea Isle. The power went out at 8:30 a.m. and is still off at 2:00 p.m. The uninsulated house on stilts is too cold now for habitation.
The public library seemed a good refuge, but I found myself standing in dark stacks and then tripped over a step stool as I groped my way back to the entrance. This, I learned, was due to rolling blackouts necessitated by the unusual demand for heating. This part of the country is simply not prepared for cold weather.
Temperatures will remain below freezing all this week, culminating in sleet and snow beginning on Thursday night and continuing through Friday. Rolling blackouts no doubt will continue.
At this point I sure would welcome a boring, repetitive day!
2 comments:
Oh, Mama! What an experience you are having! I can't imagine the chill you must feel in your non-insulated stilts house! I almost wrote, "still house." Perhaps it is time to bring out the hard liquor!
Second day of no school because of the dangerously frigid conditions! With the wind chill, we were experiencing -40 degree like weather just this morning! The temp is hovering around 0 now, but the wind chill is still in effect. Tomorrow's high is supposed to be 40. We are experiencing a loop-de-loop of weather conditions here!
The Rest of The Story
I spent the afternoon at Sand 'N Sea, recharging my phone and using their DSL line for computer activities. About 4:00 p.m. I went to Nate's West End, the community restaurant and bar in Jamaica Beach. The waitress said Sea Isle people had been there all day, waiting for restoration of power. I ate, I drank a beer, and at 4:30 decided to go back to the house, pack a few essentials, and check into a motel. Just as I walked in the door, the lights came back on and the furnace started humming. All's well that ends well. Of course I did bring out the bourbon to celebrate. Now I'm holed up for the coming ice/sleet/snow storm and looking forward to a beautiful weekend on the beach.
You keep warm up there, Nanjo. Climate chaos is a challenge for everyone.
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