Three things I've learned - or relearned - during the power outage
I woke up early Thursday morning to the crash and boom of the large storm that was passing through Ann Arbor. My first thought was excitement. I love a good thunderstorm and we've been in dire need of the rain that came with it.
But as I listened with glee to the rolling thunder and the blowing rain, it began to dawn on me that there were sounds I wasn't hearing. Where was the comforting sound of my bedroom ceiling fan? The white noise machine that lulls us to sleep? And ... gasp ... the air conditioning that makes this high temperature summer bearable?
Our household was one of the 15,000 affected by the power outage yesterday, and we're still waiting for the DTE crews to work their magic on our neighborhood. In the meantime, I’ve put together a list of a few things I've learned this week as we have dealt with life without power.
1. My mom really does have all the answers.
When I was growing up in a turn-of-the-century Sears kit house without air conditioning, our house was often cooler even than the homes of friends who had central air. Mom would open the house up first thing in the morning, using fans to circulate the air before the sun got too hot. Then the house would get sealed up tight. Every window was darkened, keeping the sun out and the interior cool.
We worked the same approach yesterday, using towels and tablecloths to cover up windows and doors when the blinds weren’t doing a sufficient job. Our house resembled a cave. A cool, dark cave. Thanks, Mom!
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
I’ve never actually tried to get a loss-leader deal on Black Friday, but our experience trying to track down a generator yesterday seemed like it must be on par. First we hit Costco, where we had been ogling generators during the grand opening over the weekend. As we jogged toward the store from the parking lot, we watched several generators roll past us on carts. We picked up our pace, sprinting to the generator aisle, only to find that all of the reasonably sized and priced generators had been snapped up. All that were left were a handful of massive generators in the 4-figure price range.
I started calling home improvement stores - one hand resting possessively on the thousand-dollar generator and the other working my cell phone. I wasn’t going to give up our one chance at power if I didn’t have other options.
Success! There was one moderately reasonable generator left at Lowe’s. I was warned that we had exactly ten minutes to get there.
“Eleven minutes from now, it’s going back on the floor.”
We started sprinting again.
3. We need to prepare more.
It started to hit me how unprepared we are on so many levels. After yesterday’s mad scramble, we’ve resolved to keep flashlights, batteries and candles in one easy to access spot, not scattered across multiple boxes in various closets and basement corners. We’ll keep rechargeable lanterns and flashlights charged and ready.
But on a broader level, it became too clear how reliant we are on what sometimes feels like a crumbling - or at least occasionally insufficient infrastructure. Our neighborhood group has been looking into collaborating on a solar power cooperative. We’re in - we’ve put off making inroads into energy independence for too long.
I’ll also be checking out this summer’s Reskilling Festival, taking place on Sunday, July 15 at Rudolf Steiner High School (2230 Pontiac Trail). There will be workshops on everything from fire-starting to organic vegetable gardening.
Finally, it's always good to have a reason to appreciate what you’ve got. We lost power for two days in 100-plus-degree heat, and that has been a pain in the neck. But we’ve got food to eat, clean water and a roof over our heads. No one is shooting at us. And as soon as the DTE trucks make their way to our neighborhood again, we’ll have lights, computers to connect us with friends across the globe, and sweet sweet air conditioning. We’re some of the luckiest people on the planet.
Comments
Ann English
Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 11:50 p.m.
I figure that your alarm clock and all your wall clocks run on BATTERIES, or else you'd be telling us you overslept. People relying on plug-in alarm clocks do, after an overnight power outage. With this being the prime power outage season, I'm buying some food for meals that don't need heating; I usually don't eat cereal or bread.
grimmk
Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 3:46 p.m.
After we "loaned" out our power generator my dad got one that is run off of our car. It can keep the fridge running and a few lights. Also, keep an old fashioned telephone that just plugs into the socket. It will run without power and in case of an emergency you have something to call with.
Townie
Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 1:58 p.m.
We found our LL Bean flashlights (crank generator powered) invaluable and now LL Bean has them with a solar option in addition to the crank power option. Great for cars since you don't have to worry about batteries running down. http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/61442?feat=506864-GN2
arborani
Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 1:15 p.m.
Nice article - and fans and the darkened house really do work. Thanks, Mom.
Lac Court Orilles
Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 12:40 p.m.
Mitt Romney blamed the Ann Arbor area power outages on Obama.
Arborcomment
Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 12:13 a.m.
A2.com, is this some kind of misery loves company thing? Five or six stories about a storm and a couple of days without power for what 15,000 or so (at max)? Meanwhile, east coast, hundreds of thousands out of power for the last WEEK. Minor league.
Arborcomment
Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 1:57 a.m.
Thanks smoke, sincerely - your comments always bring a chuckle. Loving the "worthy" of AA.com coverage.
smokeblwr
Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 12:59 a.m.
Haven't the rich folks on the East Coast taken enough of our monies? Let them bake in the heat I say! They aren't worthy of AA.com coverage.
jcoffey
Fri, Jul 6, 2012 : 11:40 p.m.
Ref: "Buying a generator in the middle of a power outage is comparable to trying to snag a flat screen TV on Black Friday" and self sufficiency: Finding A Chevy Volt in stock at a dealer after Israel attacks Iran will be equally impossible. Yes I have a Volt and an emergency generator. My neighbors come to me for water, battery charging, etc. I guess after the attack I will have to drive everyone to work as gasoline will be quite restricted.
cooperwe
Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 1:14 a.m.
Nice
Arborcomment
Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 12:06 a.m.
And your emergency generator runs on???
mpope
Fri, Jul 6, 2012 : 8:35 p.m.
Difference between old school mom's cool house and mine? Those early morning box fans, i guess. Difference between ' dont be a wimp-- tough it out' and ' lokee here. We got ourselves a generator? About three hundred bucks in lost groceries, i guess. How's the electric car running today? Theres a whole lot more to an outage than hot cranky people.
Ricebrnr
Fri, Jul 6, 2012 : 8:30 p.m.
Something else that needs to be mentioned. IF you have a generator PLEASE PLEASE remember it needs to be ventilated just like cars, just like kerosene heaters in the winter. Don't run it in your garage and for Petes sake don't run it in your basement. Otherwise... http://www.dailytribune.com/article/20120706/NEWS01/120709720/seven-hospitalized-with-carbon-monoxide-poisoning-%28with-video%29
justcurious
Fri, Jul 6, 2012 : 8:23 p.m.
Good article Jessica. I especially like the last paragraph. Living in the country, we have many outages a year. We can't even flush the toilet when that happens out here. We too bought the last generator at Lowe's a few years ago. It has been worth it's weight in gold, believe me.
RuralMom
Fri, Jul 6, 2012 : 8:27 p.m.
Now if we could just get DTE Energy to stop posting on their outage map and CALLING to say we've been restored, when we are not, it could almost be tolerable! LOL! I can say in the height of it, the map showed 1176 customers in Dexter Township without power, its now wittled down to 396, but some of us in that 396 have been notified its been repaired, when we are still in this blazing heat!
buildergirl
Fri, Jul 6, 2012 : 7:45 p.m.
Man has survived for thousands of years without power. Thousands, (including myself), survived the past several weeks without a/c. You can handle a few days...
Linda Peck
Fri, Jul 6, 2012 : 11:53 p.m.
Yes, but perhaps they migrated to a more northerly climate during a global warming trend, or drought, or firestorm.
Billy Bob Schwartz
Fri, Jul 6, 2012 : 8:18 p.m.
So the 95 year old folks just what...bake and bear it??
Jessica Webster
Fri, Jul 6, 2012 : 7:57 p.m.
Totally agree, buildergirl.
Ricebrnr
Fri, Jul 6, 2012 : 7:42 p.m.
here you go. http://www.fema.gov/plan/index.shtm http://www.ready.gov/are-you-ready-guide/ Ann Arbor has a Community Emergency Response Team as well, good people and good training there for free.. http://www.citizencorps.gov/cc/showCert.do?id=43471
Epengar
Fri, Jul 6, 2012 : 7:39 p.m.
This post would be more useful if it included links to some sites with basic emergency preparedness information, like maybe the Red Cross and the Department of Homeland Security.
NCTerry
Sat, Jul 7, 2012 : 4:03 a.m.
This is an opinion piece not a news story or a how-to article. You make some good points but try to keep in mind that the things posted at A2.com are not all the same. As an "opinion" article this is meant to share a viewpoint and not to inform or instruct.
Epengar
Fri, Jul 6, 2012 : 8:55 p.m.
I spent time yesterday and today posting links to DTE's outage map and mobile phone apps on all the recent AA.com power outage stories. I don't know why AA.com didn't include those links in their stories. Eventually they started linking to the outage map, but not always. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask the people who get paid to write the posts to do a little web-searching.
Billy Bob Schwartz
Fri, Jul 6, 2012 : 8:17 p.m.
Here's an idea: Google Red Cross and Department of Homeland Security. Then post them here yourself. What a nice thing to do.
ThaKillaBee
Fri, Jul 6, 2012 : 7:44 p.m.
I'm sure they appreciate your feedback.
Ricebrnr
Fri, Jul 6, 2012 : 7:39 p.m.
thank you for this reminder on self sufficiency & preparedness. I've been singing that song here for years and hope people listen and learn something. then extrapolate out to the rest of their lives too.