The Incident
BANG! CRASH! POOF!
It was mid-afternoon, as I stood there in the middle of the living room realizing that something had happened outside. Our power had been disrupted and we no longer had lights.
Silence beckoned with a HUSH with no electricity in motion. I stepped outside to see what could possibly have been the cause, knowing already, based on the forecast, what had transpired. And there it was…a power line down across my driveway. It was being held down by a newly fallen limb from a tree in my yard, awaiting the referee’s count to 10 for a successful pin. Unfortunately, there was no referee around to make the call.
There was however the gathering of the neighborhood men and a dog doing their best to analyze the fallen objects and predicting what would happen next.
WOOSH! The wind blew with chaotic precision as it weaved its way amongst the trees left standing looking for another victim to trap.
CREAK, WHOOSH, CRACK as it found its target, a limb overhanging the middle of the street with the conclave of men beneath.
The dog owner heard the crack first, he rushed forward to push the his neighbor out of harm’s way, knocking him down on his driveway with a THUMP! The dog seeing his master panic, quickly followed suit as…CRASH! The limb was released, descending with a tremendous CRINKLE, RIP and BANG, splintering as it hit the ground blocking most of the road, leaving its targets unharmed.
I then entered the fray. I congratulated the quick acting neighbor on his prowess, making sure no one was harmed and immediately reaching for my phone began the neverending attempt to contact the proper authorities to alert them of this thoughtless act of nature.
We all returned to our homes, destined to sit in the quiet of our shelters as the DRIP, DRIP, DRIP of the water that beaded from our brows in our uncooled abodes began to accumulate.
Some ventured out as the wind gave up its fury and moved on. Some stayed at home doing inventory and planning out just how many of our frozen foods we could grill and eat before they spoiled.
Then the quiet was broken by the resounded GRRRR of the motors. For those that had the forethought to buy those generators chose to fire them up. The sound meters registered loud. The comfort of electricity had been found by a few. The constant GRRR of the motors echoing loudly throughout the neighborhood. For those without, there was also the THUMP, THUMP in our heads from the pounding of that cacophany. Closing windows stifled some sound, but also increased the sweat.
As evening came, the generators stopped to rest, and so did we. Until the following morning when the generators started anew and the peaceful silence was broken again.
TICK, TICK, TICK goes our cuckoo clock as the hours crawl slowly forward and we await the team of experts that will resurrect our homes to the normality of summer. TICK, TICK, TICK and the wait continues…
