Being grateful for what I take for granted, part 3

This one is titled "Rescue Me" because that is the Aretha Franklin song I kept hearing in my head last night after I finished writing part 2.

So The Reenactor goes to check out the mystery Jeep in our driveway. I was only mildly concerned about who might come calling in the middle of a blackout, and the random thought of looters briefly crossed my mind. We obviously hadn't left candles burning in the house, so the house was completely dark, so it might be attractive to someone bent on breaking in. No, I was too busy happily chatting with our neighbor's grandfather in their 80-degree oven-like living room.

A few moments later The Reenactor appeared at the front door again, and asked me to step outside. When I did, there were two friends of ours grinning on the sidewalk, their faces lit up by flashlights. They had driven all the way out to our house, on roads only marginally passable, and still dangerous with dangling limbs, to give us the good news that we had a powered-up sanctuary to evacuate to.

Turns out another family we are friends with had left that afternoon for a planned vacation in New York, and just as they left town their power was restored to their mid-town home. In a last minute gesture of incredible hospitality they invited two other families to come stay at their house in their absence. Once those two families had settled in they realized there was still plenty of room for a few more, so they set out to find us.

We threw a change of clothes and some sleeping bags in the Volvo and set out at 9 o'clock on the darkest night I've ever seen. No street lights, overcast, so no stars or moon...only our headlights showed us the destruction on the roads into town. It was a matter of going quite slowly around downed limbs, electric poles, and piles of twigs and bark on the road. And the road was still icy in patches, adding an extra bit of treachery to the adventure.

Driving into town we were amazed at the little oasis' of lights that occasionally glimmered to our left or right. Mostly though, it was dark.

After we got to the house we shared a cold beverage with our fellow refuges, then went to bed. We slept in a second floor bedroom and occasionally through the night limbs from a mature oak next to the house would crash and fall, startling me awake again. But that house was warm, and I felt safe.

The next day the sun came out and started melting ice off the lines and trees. The four kids staying in the house were thrilled to have company with each other and spent the day running up and down stairs, and watching DVDs on the working television in the 3rd floor playroom. The adults hovered near the radio, and made phone calls to people in our church to check on their status...to see if they needed anything. A few brief trips were made to visit others to make sure they had some form of heat and food.

The Reenactor and I drove back to our house to get a turkey that was half-thawed in our freezer and take it back to town. That turkey was the nemesis for a wonderful "thanksgiving" meal that night. Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, someone's Granny's frozen cooked apples, and really incredible Wisconsin cheese from a home where lack of rrefrigeration was going to quickly doom it inedible. Add in generous amounts of wine and beer, and it a feast I'll never forget. We invited a few other people who of course were also without power, and while our gracious absent hosts were enjoying themselves in the Big Apple, we had a great time cooking and eating in their house in the Commonwealth.

I was also able to finally use my cell phone again (all five bars showed up!) and I called family in southwest Missouri who again urged us to come stay with them a while. Then, about 8:30 that night one of our neighbors called me to tell us that power had been restored to our neighborhood. We were stunned...it had been understood that it would be at least a week before the REA worked it's way to us. But, we certainly weren't going to argue with progress. We decided to spend another night at the Price Ice Rescue House because we weren't excited about driving those roads again after dark, plus our house would be so cold and take so long to warm up. So we stayed again with our friends. There was a quieter mood that night...maybe it was the turkey, maybe it was the notion that things were turning around, finally. Another family had power restored, and had left, and we had the house to share with another couple who were on their fifth night of gypsy living.

The next morning we returned to our house. I was nervous to go there again, and the kids hadn't seen the incredible sight of the effects of the storm in daylight yet...other than what they saw in our own neighborhood the first couple of days. They were quiet driving home, and I think they just couldn't absorb what they saw.

When we got to the house it was good to hear the hum of the refrigerator as it kicked back on, and to be able to see the curtains gently blowing over the heat registers. The house was a mess of gloves, socks, knit hats, blankets, candles, camping lights, dish towels, books, games and toys. But gradually, ever so gradually, it was warming up. We didn't have pipe damage, and in spite of being without power for four days, and below freezing temperatures, the house was still right at 40 degrees inside.

Our cat was pissed that we had left her to fend for herself. We figured her fur coat was sufficient to keep her warm, and I'm sure in our absence she had managed to curl up in a blanket somewhere in the warmth of a sunbeam. But it was apparent that all of this had thrown her out of her routine, and she was a bit high maintenance for a while.

We didn't have internet or cable tv, but those seemed like great luxuries to us now. We had electricity, thank God.

More to come....