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Email from Ed yesterday:
That overhyped Isabel has left us in the dark for nigh onto 70 hours
now. Most of Bowie is without power, and I’ve had to drive into
College Park to the Univ. of MD, which has local generators keeping
its servers alive. (where I am now)
Beth and I have been cooking on our camp stoves and using propane
& kerosene lamps. We’re a lot better off than our neighbors,
who seem to be using candles for light and heat. It would be as dark
as Gilsum in our neighborhood, except that some powerful street
lights in other parts of town light up the sky.
We’ve been going out of town to movies and restaurants, though we
have to pick and choose among towns. Annapolis is flooded and getting
worse, and parts of DC are threatened by a rising Potomac. Some other
towns in MD seem to be unaffected by the storm, but a few are
darker than Bowie.
What day is this anyway? Sunday? Saturday? It seems like Monday
because of all the days off since Isabel came to town.
Got to pick Katie up from her dorm. Then head back home 13 mi
thru intersections without lights. Interesting times.
Ed
“Interesting times” indeed! I’m sure not all the residents of Bowie are as well-suited to coping with the conditions. Nor are they likely to be similarly supplied with a facility with backup such that they can stay in touch. Cool blend of high-tech and pioneer spirit……
Comment by high and dry — September 22, 2003 @ 10:55 am
Finally, on Monday, the lights came back on here on Fox Hill, Bowie. It was a bittersweet experience. Now there was no picking up the headlamp on entering the darkened door, no lighting up the propane lamp, no putting the hot water on the butane stove outside the back door. Just flick a switch here, turn a knob there. Life is all so trivial with electricity. (Not that BG&E can take their power back, you understand.) And the whole 4-day affair is a good one to talk about in office hallways. Indeed, from some of those office hallway conversations, I’m finding many others who had it worse than we did- no hot water, no cold water, no toilet. (A lot like Grok Hill.) The experience still goes on for thousands.
Comment by ed — September 24, 2003 @ 8:07 pm
Thanks for the update, Ed. Matthew asked me this afternoon if you were still in the dark. Last night, our electricity went out for about an hour, and that almost more than we could tolerate. But then all those nifty propane lanterns are up north.
Comment by Michael — September 24, 2003 @ 9:28 pm