The snow started Friday night. I went to a movie and when I came out, there was at least six inches of snow covering my car. Thankfully I had taken mittens in with me, but not a warm coat, and man! had the temperature dropped since I entered the theatre about 3 hours ago. I could see a bit of wind starting in the falling snow and knew I better get home.
When I opened the door at home, I was sure the temperature had dropped another 10 degrees. The wind was starting in earnest and I wasn't sure if there was still snow falling or if the wind was making good use of what had already come down. I grabbed my coat and headed straight for my home. I knew we were going to get a bit of snow; I didn't realize we were in for a storm.
Closing the door firmly and stopping up the bottom of the door with a towel, I shook my jacket off, kicked my snow-covered shoes off and headed for the shower. Later, curled up on the sofa with a hot cup of tea, I felt much better. I guess the weekend ahead was going to be another solitary one.
I woke up on Sunday morning, feeling something had changed. I had not poked my nose outside all weekend but did watch the news and check the temperature regularly. The snowfall from Friday had stopped but the wind had not. And the temperature drop was no fleeting moment. We hit temperatures Saturday that we hadn't seen for decades, and today was supposed to be colder. And something was different.
And then I saw it - my breath. The temperature inside my home had dropped enough for me to see my own breath!
"This is not a good sign," I whispered to myself.
Under the blankets I was toasty warm, but when I excused my hand, I could feel that my nose was quite cold. What had happened?
I carefully slid out from under the covers and grabbed my housecoat and slippers. They were both cold enough to give me a shiver, but thankfully, it was short-lived. I schlepped into the bathroom and turned on the lights ... nothing. I tried again - no light. No electricity. What a day for that to happen!
It hit me - no electricity means no heat, no cooking, no nothing. Would the hot water still work? I turned on the taps and nothing came through. "Don't tell me something else happened," I sighed.
Back in my bedroom, I put on layers of warm clothes. My only solution was to leave here until the cold broke, so as warm as I could dress before heading out into the blizzard that still was raging around my small home. I added a parka, boots, scarf and mitts and opened the door. I was stopped in my tracks.
The snow had blown up against the door until it was chest high. I was not going to be able to get out that way. I went to the back door ... and I couldn't even open that door. It was frozen shut. A window? Every window I tried was frozen shut and some were even so covered in snow that I could not see out. I was house-bound in a way that I never had been before.
The phone ... no, that wouldn't work; computer neither. My cell! I always plug that in before going to bed ... I would certainly have some energy there!
I took my coat and boots off and went into my bedroom. There was my cell on the nightstand - I grabbed it and turned it on. 30% ?? how was that possible? And then I saw that the cord had disconnected at some point during the night. Well ... at least there is something! I turned the phone on and dialed 911. An automated message came on saying that there was a higher than normal call ratio at that moment and the wait time was about 90 min.
Ninety minutes? on a 911 line?? That's ridiculous! I hung up. Better to save my 30% than waste it waiting.
Suddenly I thought - my camp stove and the propane for that. At least I could make myself a cup of tea! I hauled it out and got it going. The first sip of that hot nectar was almost heaven!
As I sat there, I started to think of who I should call to help me out. My neighbor; they were a young couple and would easily be able to help me out. I dialed their number. After 4 rings, I got their answering machine. I left a message and moved on to a friend that lived nearby. Another answering machine. After 4 more attempts, all resulting in answering machines, I was starting to get a little worried ... not only were people not answering their phones but my energy in my cell was now reading 15%. I sat on my sofa, empty tea cup in hand ... not knowing what to do now.
The internet! I could do a quick search on my phone to find a police station phone number or a fire station or a store even, and call them. I put my phone on and hit the browser icon. "The Internet is temporarily unavailable. Please try again" it said.
My stomach sank as my phone beeped. 5% left.
No comments:
Post a Comment