That's The Night The Lights Went Out in Boardman

The remnants of Hurricane Ike made it all the way to Boardman, Ohio shortly after Blowhard Turner ruined the Chicago Bears shot at a perfect season.

I know this because things started getting dicey right about the time Dave from the tree company came by to, ironically, give us a bid on removing 11 trees from the homestead.

Don't fear. We have about 20 trees left. More, if you consider the back 40...

As he attempted to write out the bid, limbs began crashing around us as the winds shifted to between 20-30 mph. Later, we learned, gusts as high as 61 mph roared through the area. There was no rain, just a warm, fierce wind.

After the tree guy left and after the neighbor with the new kitty came by, we settled in to enjoy the Sunday Night Football clash between local favorites, the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers. As dinner ended at about 8:40 p.m., I had just made the decision to turn off the 42-inch plasma because of the flickering lights when we lost all electricity.

Our entire neighborhood was in the black. How would we survive without lights, TV or even a fan to move the thick, warm air around?

How, indeed.

The answer: our emergency kit. We had put it together in Florida and never used it. When we moved to Ohio, we just moved the plastic containers carrying our Red Cross-certified hurricane preparedness kit expertly crafted by yours truly and stuck them into the basement with the rest of our treasures...

After, of course, plugging in the Black and Decker Storm Station Power Inverter.

I dare say we were the most prepared family in Ohio. Bring on the black out!

Battery-powered florescent lights went on. We shifted from a 42-inch plasma to a 2-inch analog baby (that will make a nice paperweight after the world goes digital next February) so we could continue to enjoy the game. We switched on a battery-powered fan. I answered my cell phone.

And I typed this.

Now, I won't be able to post this blog until power and cable returns (no cable modem). But, frankly, we are riding this out in pretty decent style. The cats have no idea what the hell is going on or why we are living like this, however...

Wait until they see how the rest of the week turns out...

More later,


Mark

UPDATE NO. 1: I woke up at 2:23 a.m. to power being restored. Thank you utility company emergency crews!

UPDATE NO. 2: As of 7:40 a.m., many schools are closed and there are big branches down in our neighborhood. We are still left without cable, which mean no TV, phones or Internet access... BUT: We have electricity.

UPDATE NO. 3: One of the 11 trees chosen to be taken down by the tree company was a victim of the wind.

UPDATE NO. 4: I am updating this during lunch at work. Still no cable/Internet/phones at home.