update

We had a taste of the 1800's. A wind storm knocked out the power to over half a million and we did 4 days without electric. I came home from a weekend of climbing to no power. I was glad I had a camp stove to cook on but without refrigeration most of the food went bad. The gas stations that were open were mobbed and ice and batteries were in short supply if you could find them. I noticed people were learning to get through 4 way intersections. The traffic lights were out. It even made the comute to work faster than sitting through all those red lights. Everything else takes longer. Thankfully the power came on before I had to wash clothes by hand. Evenings were pretty dull. No internet. no TV. just the radio. Like the old days. Kids were outside playing instead of in front of the tube. I had to rumage around in the dark for my headlamp to go to the bathroom just like camping at Miguel's. It's really quiet when it gets dark. I dug around in the basement and found my oil lamp. Amazingly everything was still there after 30 years. Oil and all. It lit a room fairly well. We left it burn one night and it almost ran out. We depended on cell phones a lot. nice for getting the time. No alarm clock,not that I use one much. I was tempted to start up the grandfather clock. Never got around to it. I came in every evening worn out and crudy from cutting up trees for people. I think I missed having ice and internet the most.