Monday, July 24, 2006

plunged into darkness


It was July 22 at 5:00 pm...suddenly everything electrical stopped. No lights, no computer, no Air Conditioning. Outside it was 110 degrees...and inside we slowly watched the temperature plunge, the refridgerater was silent, I recharged my cell phone in the car with the ac blasting...everyones world was suddenly different.

By 8:00 the house became pitch dark...and we started to light the candles I had gathered to get some semblance of light. Our flashlights swung around the room, my eyes strained to see, everything became 10 times as difficult.

It was a hot and sticky weekend in LA.
At 5:00pm my cousin and her husband arrived from England for a visit with us. Little did they know they were walking into an inferno...
Last night we stayed at a friends house to cool down and get some much needed rest.
My angel of a friend.
July 24th...
This morning the DWP told us on the phone there were 17,000 homes without electricity...we were one of them. We had no idea how long the darkness would last. At noon I tossed everything out of the refridgerator...
at 3:00pm everything roared into action and there was electricity once again.
I was elated...
2 days of darkness....thank goodness for the light!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

We are so dependent on our gas/electricity services, aren't we?

It is difficult when these outages occur. The good part is that they give us a peak at what our lives would be like without them - and make us appreciate them more.

Sorry that your relatives had to experience the heat. It will probably be one of those stories that you reminsce about and retell for years to come!

You turned it into a beautiful picture opportunity, though! You "artist people" are amazing!
pattisl

Lelainia N. Lloyd said...

I am assuming this is what you call a brown out? We don't have them here, but I hear about them happening in the US all the time. What a pain that must be-and all that food wasted! WOW! I hope no one died as a result of the heat!

Beatrice, Bea, Bibi--That's me! said...

Thank goodness you got your electricity fairly quickly. I'm sorry you had to go through an outtage with the horrible heat. I didn't realize it got up to 110. Your relatives will have a story to tell!
You pictures are beautiful, though!
Take care
Bea

Beatrice, Bea, Bibi--That's me! said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you got your electricity back after a relatively short time. I am one of the lucky ones here is St. Louis. Mine was only off about 6 hours. There are still people here without power and it's the sixth day!! Hot hot hot here as well. Stay cool!

Kitlat said...

I am glad to know that you made it through okay. No blackouts in Massachusetts but that could change this weekend...

I am also intrigued that you used this to create an interesting narrative with pictures.

Anonymous said...

Actually we are very lucky that these types of things only last a few days....not so for many others.
As soon as we all think we can control mother nature; we are sent a terrifying reminder of just how little we truly control.
debs