Powerless

Mason and Lewis Streets, Greenwich, 2012
after Superstorm Sandy

 

We're supposed to have a pretty big storm before mid-day Monday.

Rain, wind, mass hysteria, and so on.

There's at least a chance that power will be lost.

We've been fortunate that we have not lost power in the Presidential Suite since we moved in. I think there might have been a brief loss of power once when I wasn't here but Sean said it came back on quickly. So to be more accurate we haven't lost power for any long amount of time.

In fact, I think the last power outage we experienced was from tropical Storm Isaias in the summer of 2020. We were still living in Mahopac at the time and we lost power in the early afternoon. I was ready to not host my show when Bob Small at WGCH asked me to do whatever I could do to make the show happen. The station thought it would be good to have a live voice who could serve as a "local" show, despite my being 30 miles away.

So I drove to the nearby McDonalds because I thought I'd be able to ping off their wifi to get online. Cell phone towers took a big hit in the area. 

However, service wasn't possible from the parking lot, and going inside wasn't an option due to COVID regulations at the time.

Instead, I got just enough cell service to stay on the air from the parking lot via phone.

So, I hosted the show from my car. In fact, it's in my archive here. Bob thought, at worst, I could report from my perspective and pivot if news broke. At best, the show was some comfort food for listeners.

We got power back a few hours later, which tended to happen at my mom's house. If we lost power for any length of time then it was likely bad. The location of her house wasn't far from a power substation and that apparently worked in our favor.

When many were out for days or weeks following Superstorm Sandy, we were out roughly 24 hours.

Even the great power outage of 2003 wasn't too bad, despite the insane heat that night. We got power back later that night and were able to fire up air conditioning.

Things weren't quite the same when I lived in Carmel. I watched as my neighborhood stayed dark and other areas got their power back.

So far, I've seen the part of Greenwich I live in be an area that either doesn't lose power or doesn't lose it for long.

That is optimal, to say the least.

I've often said that an occasional power outage can be healthy. It's sometimes a necessary evil. It forces us to get creative. It makes us -- dare I say -- put the devices down (gotta conserve the battery) and talk to each other.

It also makes us lean on the radio since it can run via battery!

But, let's face it, nobody wants a power outage, and I'm certainly not rooting for one.

Are we ready if necessary? I think we are though you just never know.

We have food and drinks. We have batteries and flashlights and so on.

I have my Paul McCartney book and other things to occupy me.

Our cars have gas.

We have supplies for the cat and, if for some reason we'd have to leave, we'd be set as best as possible.

Of course, this is all conjecture, but one can never be too certain.

Whatever this storm is, stay safe and dry.