Eight days without electrical power have finally come to an end. Earlier this afternoon I stumbled across the yard to thank the folks in the Hydro trucks, trying to stay down wind as much as possible. Not sure why I feel like weeping but I do. In the aftermath of the destruction in New Brunswick, Canada, from hurricane Arthur I have been luckier than most. Apart from trees I lost very little, since there was nothing in my fridge beside some condiments, a tired old onion and some wrinkly potatoes. My sister Beatrice, alas, lost everything in her fridge as well the whole freezer full of everything from steaks to hams to wild salmon to fiddle-heads. Not having power isn’t exactly new to me. I think it was 1951 when the poles were first put up along this road. I would have been around 13 years old. Of course we had a wood stove and a heater, Aladdin lamps, and two outhouses. Water was available from the spring and I carried gallons of it. This time there was no spring water fit to drink. The road was widened a few years ago creating a swampy pool around and over the spring, sweetened by road tar, salt and a horse stable next door. Among the first trees on my property to come down were two giant firs which fell across my path to the outhouse. My house is heated by electricity and since the longest power outage in the past 35 years was four hours, I saw no need for a wood stove. I did recall a Coleman stove in the barn, but it’s been decades since it was used and I could not trust my stroke-weakened hands to light it, so that was out. However I did have a kerosene lamp and a Walkman radio where I heard CBC announcers telling me to call so-and-so for updates. Alas there was no phone and no internet. Hmmm! Well I learned a lot during the power outage. First, I was reminded of what wonderful neighbors I have. Many thanks to the folks who drove in with five-gallon containers of water to the Lakeville firemen who came with bottled drinking water and offers from all and sundry to help, even to trimming the downed trees. The sweetest sound to my ears today was the drone of chain-saws, clearing the wires. Grama’s Restaurant served a grand Sunday morning breakfast buffet. Families with three or four children showed up to chow down. No screaming or shouting. Just lots of laughter and chatter as we compared notes. I’m not sure how many trees came down altogether, but safe to say twenty or more along the road and behind the house. The only one I really felt bad about was the red oak friends had planted in memory of my husband Robert Nielsen who died July 10, 2009. But I think that one, even though it has lost some branches, will recover. Meanwhile I learned how to wash my hair and take a sponge bath in three cups of water. I found out electric garage door openers do not work during a power outage. My sister had her car in her garage so she was grounded. I was reminded how lucky I am to have a bag of books beside my chair. Electronic books wouldn’t have lasted very long. And when you consider the extent of the damage, it is hard to believe that nobody was injured. The best offer I had all week was from a cheeky fellow in Tim Hortons who offered to let me use his shower provided I brought water and let him shower with me.(Not bad for a gamey 76-year-old.) So I have now crossed off everything on my bucket list, and kicked the old bucket over.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 20:01:23 +0000
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