I would have posted this earlier today except there was no phone service from this county. We could only call within the county meaning no ISP internet service for us. We are a small county in population so there is no ISP near us. No internet! No www! But my friends are out there in internet space! I can't reach them!

My husband is the Republican chairman for the county and he is trying to get his Republican office open. He was frantic not being able to call the people he had to contact. It is vital to get the office open for this Saturday's gala "Christmas on the Square." Lots of Democrats to convert! It was not a good day.

Can we talk? A few days ago, about 6:30 p.m., we had heavy cloud cover, heavy rain. All of a sudden there is a power surge, magnitude 7 on the Ricter (sp?) scale. I bolted from my chair to pull the major plug where all electronic equipment comes together. Before I could get across the room, there were two more MAJOR surges, then darkness about the time I ripped the cord from the wall. We have a good surge protecter but they have their limits and these surges were the worst we have experienced here. We live in the middle of the Sam Houston National Forest. Trees sometimes fall when we have heavy rain and/or wind. Trees are genetically calibrated to fall across power lines. Any lineman will back me up on that. At that time of day with heavy cloud cover, it is DARK in the forest. The nearest town is 5 miles away and it is so small they have a couple of street lights so no light from there. It was seriously dark. No problem, I think, I am prepared. Where is the nearest candle or flashlight because I can't see my hand in front of my face. Dare I take a step and fall over furniture or something on the floor like maybe my little Yorkie? It is really easy to get disoriented in total darkness. I told my husband to stay seated. He has two artificial hips. A fall would be very bad for him. I knew there was a pretty little candle thingy on the mantle and I had a cigarette lighter in my pocket. I lit that and could see my way to the mantle. Once I got there I was back in control. Have you checked to see how long a candle burns? Well, they burn at different rates according to their composition. I got several burning so we could see around the room. We called a restaurant in the little town and they had lights. We went there. We left a safe candle going in the house so the Yorkie would not be in total darkness. The countryside on the way to town was like a bottle of ink. There was no light anywhere until we arrived in town. Blessed light. We had dinner, visited with people a while and called back to the guard gate at Cape Royale and the lights were back. The electronic equipment was o.k.. I really felt it was probably all gone.

It was so dark without light. I have now filled one of the Aladdin lamps with lamp oil. When Dec. 30 arrives (or before) I suggest you get a light source prepared and maybe carry a cigarette lighter on your person. (50 lighters, Sams, $10)

If I had Factfinder's address I would mail him a cigarette lighter. I think he is going to need it.

If electricity fails, the internet fails, and I can't tell you then so I'm telling you now, get yourself prepared for no light; don't fall over furniture. A broken leg or hip is not a good thing.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 1999

Answers

But wasn't the dark outside wonderful? I too live in a forest but everyone including us has security lights. Its never REALLY dark anymore and I miss it. I don't wish any harm on anyone, but think it would be neat celebration New Year's eve if all went totally dark for about 20 minutes. Its an experience that a couple of generations have never had. Can you believe that? I used to live in the Cascade Mtns of WAshington State and it was DARK at night. I miss the dark.

Taz

-- Anonymous, December 10, 1999

Thanks Marcella. I've been building a straw-bale shed for my solar equipment and generator, which will be used to charge my batteries. I bought some push-on lights from Home Depot, that are battery operated. It was getting dark last weekend, so we installed one of them, and of course, it stopped working after a while. Sigh...

Anyway, I was looking for batteries, and discovered that I didn't have enough for more than one light. A friend had "borrowed" some for his radio. I tried to find the rechargable batteries I bought from Real Goods, and the battery charger. It took awhile to find both. I checked the charges on the batteries and they were good, so I'm taking the light back to Home Depot, but in the meantime, I charged every single battery I have, sizes AAA to D, and the battery charger, which I also got from Real Goods, works fantastically. You can actually recharge batteries that you normally throw away. It can tell the difference between the various types and sizes of batteries automatically, and tells you the charges on them.

I just bought a bunch more batteries from Home Depot, and am considering purchasing a rechargable flashlight. Only problem with the charger from Real Goods is that you need electricity to run it. But if you have a solar panel you connect to your car battery and a little inverter, you may be able to use that for the power.

Today I ordered the Year 2000 Resource CD from Microsoft, which has upgrades for Windows 95, 98 and NT, as well as Office 95, 97 and others. It's really hard to find where to order it from the Y2K area of their website, but if you go to the Technical Support area look for the phone listing for the Microsoft Y2000 Product Analyzer. You can order the CD from there. The CD is free, shipping is free, and they said it will arrive in 5-10 days. I'd heard it would take 6 weeks, so I'm pleasantly surprised. Now, let's see if it really arrives in that timeframe.

Victoria

-- Anonymous, December 10, 1999

Victoria,

I may be wrong about this, but I think that Blockbuster Video stores have those Microsoft CD's available for free as well. You can also get a Microsoft video about Y2k at the same time. It was something that MS put together with Blockbuster. So, hit one of their stores if there is one near you and check it out.

Taz,

You are right that darkness can be wonderful. A few years back I was out in the Bahama Islands one night and I saw stars like I never had before. I was on the beach at night and there were no lights around and *clean* air coming in from the Atlantic Ocean. The sky was so black and the stars so bright that it looked like they were only a few thousand feet above me. Unbelievable. It made me think that this is what the shepards of long ago used to see, and why they paid so much attention to it and named them all.

Gordon

-- Anonymous, December 10, 1999

taz...

i will never forget the adjustment required when i moved from nyc to the country... it was so strange to drive on roads without street lights; and the silence had the loudest sounds i never heard.

i much prefer the darkness now. i live in the mountains and much prefer the isolation to the city life... well, most of the time... still can't beat the restaurants and culture of the city.

gordon...

i had the same experience in oz... lying on a beautiful beach looking up at the southern cross... the sky was as black as the darkest ink and the stars and the planets stood out in stark relief.

down the beach there was a roaring fire and someone playing a didjeridoo...it was quite mystical. an almost overwhelming sense of peace and contentment...

these are things you don't experience through conspicuous consumption.

-- Anonymous, December 10, 1999

I must say, Marcella, your adventure made for most interesting reading, I am glad everything turned out ok for you guys! I appreciate the offer of the lighter too, lol! I have one, but I did notice that the batteries in two of my flashlights are dead, so of course I will buy new ones ...soon ;) Actually, the ice season is coming near, and I want to be prepared for that, as I mentioned, a few years ago we were without power for about a week here in the Charlotte NC area...

Regards,

-- Anonymous, December 12, 1999

Most Americans have no idea what the sky truely looks like without all the lights and pollution. In working in the deserts of the mid- east and the US west, one of the true luxuries was the night sky, free from the filters of humidity, man made light and man made atnospheric pollution. It is really fantastic. On several occasions I found that there was enough light from the moon and the stars to read a newspaper. Not well, but I did do it.

-- Anonymous, December 12, 1999