Summer has unofficially arrived. Nearly 90 humid degrees yesterday (that's Fahrenheit, for those of you in Scandinavia). By late afternoon the house was hotter than a Coney Island hoochie dancer.
My knack for spontaneous imagery amazes me.
Irritable and exhausted from my usual lack of sleep, I opted for a nap just after dusk.
About an hour later, a gigantic clap of thunder jolted me out of Dreamland. Lightning flashed menacingly. My desktop computer (which was turned off) inexplicably beeped (yes, beeped) and turned on by itself. No lie.
The lights in the house blinked on, off, on......off.....
Bingo! Another power failure. I lit a few candles while stumbling over an annoying trio of wayward cats.
There's not much one can do in the dark (when one is alone). I couldn't read. Couldn't write. Couldn't mess with the computer. So I located a transistor radio and took it to bed.
It's tricky trying to get any decent radio reception here in the Daniel Boone boonies. In order to pick up the "local" station I have to conduct a complex series of strategic maneuvers:
Keep my left hand on the Volume dial, with index finger firmly pressed against the AM switch.
Hold the antenna with my right hand in order to generate reception.
Point the radio south-east in the exact direction of where the town is located.
And pray. Pray for reception to be generated - -
and pray that lightning won't strike the antenna while I'm holding it.
These maneuvers eventually allow me to pick up the "local" station, which is in the process of having a bluegrass fest. That's okay. I like bluegrass. Soon they switch to playing hymns.
Hell, I like hymns, too - but it's slightly unnerving listening to songs about dying and meeting my maker during a severe thunderstorm with intense lightning when you're holding an antenna.
Seems like everybody's going to heaven. It must be damn crowded up there. Kinda like Atlantic City on the 4th of July. I personally want no part of it.
After the hymns, they start reading the local obituaries.
I've mentioned this before and I'll say it again. These hillbillies are obsessed with death. Every time I turn on the radio, somebody's reading a casualty list. They must have more stiffs here than London did during the Black Plague. Or was it the Red Plague?
Heck, I can hardly remember my own name, let alone the colors of plagues.
Anyway, the power came back on around midnight.....
.......and went off again around 3:00 a.m.
I've never seen a darker night. The rain stopped. The storm was gone. It was completely quiet and still. The only discernable light came from a few random fireflies drifting in the dark.
Power was restored - again - this morning.
Change of subject:
I thought my previous post would generate more attention, but it fizzled like a damp firecracker. The title - Music From the Civil War - was probably a turn-off. Perhaps I should have called it Naked Civil War Soldiers.....
One of my old blog posts, entitled Elizabeth Taylor's Pussy, got over 7,000 hits. Don't panic. I merely posted some photos of Liz with her cats.
Another post entitled Gay Hollywood Hunks (on my other blog) got 5,000 hits.
So what's my point?
People don't want intelligent blog posts. They don't give a rat's ass about my piano music.
They want sleaze.
First off screw the blog post title. And post what YOU WANT If one person enjoys it, then you should feel good that you made someone's day. I myself thoroughly enjoyed it, and it moved me. And I thank you for taking the time to compose it. Second, I do enjoy a good thunder storm like that, where the power goes. I too have a battery radio, a small thing, but the sound is amazing, almost like that of a Bose. I got it at Restoration Hardware some years ago as a stocking stuffer, hid it, and then forgot about it. It was for the ex, but he wasn't crazy about it. A battery radio. The nerve. Needless to say I got it when we split. Comes in real handy when the power is gone. I just lay back and enjoy classical or jazz. And it gets a great station that plays the groovy 50-60's lounge. No obits though...sorry.
ReplyDeleteI've always been tempted to get a Bose. Right now I have several battery radios. They work very well in the city - but here in the boonies I can hardly pick up any stations. On clear nights I can get a classical station from Kentucky, which is nice (I only live a few miles from KY).
DeleteJon, I love this post! Your description of a stormy night is exemplary. We had a couple nights like that during this rare stormy winter here and sure enough, the power went out. I don't know how we can call ourselves a "world power" if we can't even keep our lights on.
ReplyDeleteMy stormy night description would have been longer, but I didn't want to overstay my welcome. I'm surprised that they get the power back on so quickly here in the boonies. Last winter my cousin was without power for three days (and she lives close to town). Mine was only out for a few hours.
DeleteThere is something comforting about candlelight in a thunderstorm. And the image of you with the transistor radio adds to it.
ReplyDeleteI always love candlelight (although I am addicted to modern conveniences). I also miss my fireplace.
DeleteWe had some bad thunder storms last night around midnight and it messed up my internet connection it took me hours to get it back on to night. I think the first thing I do in the morning is call for a new modem. This happens every time it lightings. I hope we both can rest tonight. Take care. Jean
ReplyDeleteGetting a new modem sounds like a good idea. When I lived in Texas, a lightning storm blew out my printer and it never worked again. I was forced to buy a new one.
Delete(I should probably have unplugged it during the storm).
It must be storming everywhere these days. Of course we need the rain. We used to have a radio station that gave the obits every morning. Kind of sad to wake up to but other wise we wouldn't know who died until Wednesday when our once a week paper is printed.
ReplyDeleteI think in these small, rural areas the obits are important - because everybody seems to know everyone else. Ironically, the newspaper here is only printed once a week, too - - on Wednesday!
DeleteI love this post (not that I didn't like your last). I can picture you with your radio in one hand and the antenna raised like the Statue of Liberty. There is nothing like the sensation of dead quiet and complete darkness. The weather people on TV are giving "feels like" temperatures because of the humidity.
ReplyDeleteYup - it's 90 degrees, but it FEELS like 375 with the humidity.
DeleteI have never seen anyplace as pitch black as it is here when the power goes off - especially when there's no moon. It is extremely creepy but I actually enjoy it.
People care less and less about more and more and I'm left feeling like an isolated wolf. I don't give a damn about politics. People who pump their religion make me practice my self-control. And I refuse to watch the news. That leaves.....uh....being isolated with Joe and turning into a recluse. Poor Joe has no choice but to accompany me. Everyone thinks they're going to a better place, but would fight the devil himself to stay here and alive. They never realize they invented a cruel god who wouldn't let anyone in heaven. NONE of it makes sense but they'd fight over it in a New York second.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely an isolated wolf since I moved to TN - and I savor the peace and privacy. Having to deal with the annoyances of humanity is exasperating, and listening to the news could easily drive me to insanity and/or murder.
DeleteMy Born-Again uncle always used to tell me that he's going to heaven - and I finally said "What the hell are you going to DO there?"
He couldn't answer.
He's now pushing 90...and still on earth...
No--provocative titles just attract some of the flotsam and jetsam floating about the surface of the internet--ROFL! You may get a lot of hits but those people don't usually return or become loyal followers.
ReplyDeleteYears ago I bought an old oil lamp specifically for power failures. It will but out enough light so that you can at least read or write. The antique or junk stores often have them. Or you could invest in a camping one--like a Coleman. I've always wanted something to see in the dark ever since we went through the "Darkest Night" with six tornadoes back in Fridley in 1965. (http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/climate/journal/1965_tornadoes.html). I just googled it and there is a lot of information since they had the 50 year anniversary a couple years ago. I was 14 years old and in the junior high at the science fair and watched the ceiling disappear in sections. Walked home inbetween tornadoes. We didn't have electricity for days. I've always had a lot of candles and flashlights around--and then bought a big oil lamp about 30 years ago. ;)
I like oil lamps and used to have several - but since I moved I only have one. I recently looked at lamp oil in Walmart and it was over SIX dollars for a small bottle, so I didn't buy it. Maybe next time....
DeleteTornadoes are extremely terrifying. I experienced several when I lived in Springfield, Missouri (one of the main reasons I moved from there).
One night I was out driving when a tornado approached the city. I zoomed through several red traffic signals and made it to St. John's Hospital, where the nuns took us down to the basement. We stayed there until dawn.
If you only use the oil lamp when the power goes out it will last a long time, if that helps. Yes--not cheap--but worth it in the dark of night. ;)
DeleteTornadoes are concentrated destruction. I've seen quite a few of them from a distance but that was the only time I was right in one. There were six of them that went through that night and three of them through my suburban town of Fridley, if I remember correctly. You don't forget if you get close to one--LOL!
During my time in the U.S. I travelled through some of the Southern States on business. In one instance I had rented a car somewhere in Texas and had arrived one evening in Oklahoma City from Ft. Worth, Texas I think. I was travelling alone and that evening on the Tv in mt room, I noticed a curious symbol in the bottom left hand corner of the TV scree. It looked liked a stylised "Q". After watching the local evening news I realised it was a tornado warning! I checked with reception and they were really nonchalant about the whole thing. I don't remember any discussion about being evacuated anywhere safer. As to local radio stations, I used to really enjoy picking up the different radio stations on those long road trips. A glimpse into people's lives. The music they listened too for example Discovered my love of zydeco music during this time. The call in shows and what made people tick. Even the local ads for the specials this week at the Piggly Wiggly!!! Can't remember if that was in the southern states or in the North West. Great Americana experiences. MaggieB
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this, Maggie.
DeleteFive days after I moved to the Missouri Ozarks there was a Tornado Warning on TV and I had no idea what it was. Having been raised in temperate Southern California, it shocked me to discover that residents of the Midwest were (as you said) nonchalant about dangerous weather.
I've always loved listening to the radio late at night, when I could easily get stations from other states. It gave me lots of insight into other places and made me feel like I was traveling.
Hoochie dancers and stiffs will get our attention,
ReplyDeleteI often strain my limited capabilities in order to attract attention....
DeleteYour account of the storm sounds eerily similar to what we experienced last Saturday night in the Alabama boonies. Damn the snakes, I was seriously wondering if son didn't have a crawl space under his house.
ReplyDelete'Embarrassed to admit, not that long ago I went perusing Abilene's on-line obituaries for the last few years ... startled and saddened at a few names I recognized. Like funeral services, I suppose obits are for the living.