Thursday, July 21, 2011

Can Someone Cut on The Lights?

Today I got off work, and knew that I had to pick up the Grandboy to take him to daycare.  I know it seems silly to make him go to daycare at 3:00 in the afternoon, but that is where his Mom wants to pick him up.  He knows when he stays with us he doesn't have to go to daycare.  So he loves to be on the farm.  Anyway, I was rushing to get home to do this, because I get off at 2:00.  (Until Monday, then my hours get cut, and I will get off at 12 noon.  But that is another story).  I stopped and met one of our tenants in a gas station parking lot to pick up her rent.  I had just started on my trip home, when Pappy called.  He said he would meet me at the hardware store with Grandboy.  So I adjusted my path, and headed that way.  When I got to the hardware store, I saw Grandboy and Pappy.  Grandboy got a Popsicle and we walked around while Pappy shopped.  Next, I took him to daycare.  Grandboy was not very happy, and wouldn't talk to me at the daycare.  I hope he is not still mad at me.  We'll see Sunday, I guess.

After I left the daycare and started running my usual errands, Pappy called.  He said our utilities were off.  We didn't have a good connection, so that was really all we said, but I pretty much panicked.  It was about 4 in the afternoon.  I didn't want us to be without electricity all night.  The heat index here is 105 degrees!

We live in the country, way off the road.  Our driveway is a half mile long!  If our electricity ever goes off we have to call and report it immediately because it may only be us that gets knocked out, and the utility company may not notice.  So I called to report the outage.  Sure enough it was just us. There had been lightening in the area, the electric company told me.  There was a truck in route.  So I, too,started to the farm.  If the truck got there before I did, and the problem was in our pasture, someone would have to help with directing repair men and cows.  This had happened before, at about 11:00 at night.  Most utility workers don't want to be that close to a bull in the dark!

After I got to the farm, we waited an hour for the repairmen.  The temperature rose 3 degrees, to 81.  When you live with well water, if the electricity is out, you don't have water.  So I was hoping the lights would be back on shortly.  In my head, I was thinking that I hadn't been to Lowe's to replace the water bottle in our kitchen dispenser since the tornadoes in April,  that we use for times like this.  I was thinking about what we would eat for dinner.  Would anyone notice if I didn't show up on the Internet tonight? 

The truck drove up.  Pappy heard it before it got to the house.  They brought the big truck, that is like standing next to an elephant or something.  They rolled down our long driveway, and came to a stop at the house.  The driver yelled out the window that we would have lights in just a few minutes.  I asked what happened, and they said lightening definitely hit the pole at the road, but they road back here to check for down lines before fixing it.  None were found, so they would make the repair.  In just a few minutes, the lights were back on, just as promised.  We had Jack's carryout for supper.  And I still got computer time!  What a day!

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