April 28, 2011
I spent all morning listening to the people calling into the radio station, talking about what had happened around North Alabama. It wasn't as depressing as it had been the night before, but it was still plenty awful. Mostly, it was people talking about where you could find places with power, gas, food and of course, the people calling in to ask idiotic questions. The on air talent was beginning to get a bit punchy with some of the callers, but it was deserved. It was as if people just weren't listening to what earlier people had said.
Of course, our power was still out, and we found out that we may not have any power for as long as 7 days. We are lucky that this happened during a relatively cool part of the year. No AC during really hot weather is no joke around here. Also, I don't feel like I can complain too much about the power being off. At least we still have our home!
Both fortunately and unfortunately, I had gotten groceries before the storms hit. Fortunate, because we weren't going to starve if the power had to stay off for a while. Unfortunate, because a lot of the groceries had been meat and dairy. We drank a lot of milk today. We also have to plan a big barbecue, because we are going to lose all of the food in the fridge in next couple of days.
It turned out that both Target and Publix were open, with limited power, so Steve and I went to see if we could grab a bag of charcoal. Of course, we were very late to the party and there was no charcoal to be found. There was also no bottled water, bread, and Pop Tarts were quite scarce. We left Publix empty handed, but were at least able to get a grill plate (for things usually too small to put on the grill) some pop tarts, lighter fluid, and 3 card games at Target. Oh, and as an aside, I'd love to know why the cashier at Target, the one I'm always super nice to, never fails to treat me like I've got cooties. I've gone through is line a billion times, and he's never once been friendly to me, even though he is friendly to the people before and the people after. Poor form, cashier, very poor.
I don't know what it says about my usual ideas about my fellow man, but I was pleasantly surprised that people behaved as well as they did at the stores. I was expecting things to degrade to the point of people wearing loin cloths and setting things on fire. I mean, you had some people sniping because people wouldn't get out of their way, but there was very little, if any, really, anger or fighting about anything. At least I didn't see any. Hopefully, that will continue.
We came home and cooked our first wave of rapidly thawing food: steak, chicken, and most of a box of egg rolls.
I didn't realize the power being out would necessitate going on the Atkins diet, but there you have it. I suppose the Pop Tarts will counterbalance the lack of carbs in my other food, though!
: )
My phone stopped sending messages or calls, but it could still receive for a while. I also haven't been able to reach my mom or sister, but I'm going to assume they are doing about the same as us. Steve's phone is still working, so we are lucky on that front.
As night fell, it seemed as if we were the last people on earth. I don't know why darkness is so isolating, but it closed around us and cut us off from everything and everyone. I had to commandeer Steve's iPhone and find someone to talk to who didn't live up here. It was nice to hear that the world was indeed, still turning.
Steve and I spent the evening reading, playing card games, and being quiet. At one point, we went outside and looked at the sky. I had no idea there were so many stars above our house! It was the first time I'd ever seen the sky out here without the usual light pollution. I agree with Steve, that it almost makes the lack of electricity worth it, just to see that.
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