The Day After

We were doing quite well through the storm. The brunt of the storm in Massachusetts would be felt along the coast. We are about 50 miles from the coast as the crow flies. We had little rain and strong wind gusts. Only a dead oak tree bought the farm. We didn't have the money to have it taken down so Sandy did us a favor. It fell on our property and caused no damage to our neighbors.

I was thinking this storm wasn't so bad until the electricity went out at 12:30 AM. So many others lost their power earlier in the day. Himself had bought a special battery to power the CPAP machine he uses for his sleep apnea. Usually, he's up all night if the power is out. He got so used to the machine he can't sleep without it. Classes were cancelled at his school. No class, no labs for The Eldest to set up or clean up after.

We still had no power when we woke up, and happily, no water in the basement.  Himself hooked up the generator to get the sump pump going, brought the microwave downstairs and plugged that in so I could have a hot cup of tea.

Verizon 3G was frustratingly slow (I think the 300 baud modems I worked on 30 years ago ran faster. Can you hear me now, Verizon?) so on a whim, Himself hooked up the modem to the generator. I sipped my tea with the chemical creamer and booted up the laptop in true pioneer fashion. Then the electricity came on.

We're watching the news and seeing the devastation the storm wreaked on places like New Jersey and New York. I hope friends and colleagues in these areas are safe and their damage minimal, but for the grace of God go I.