On Labor Day weekend a fierce storm raced through Siouxland and knocked down trees and damaged homes. Although our house wasn't hit, several trees, including one that towered more than 50 feet in the air, came crashing down in the yard.
One tree took out the power pole at one end of the block, another tree flattened the pole at the other end and a third took the power and phone wires to our house. It even pulled the electric meter off the side of the house. The result was we were without power, TV cable and Internet. It made me realize I didn't appreciate many of the small blessings in life we all take for granted.
I never stopped to think about how much I relied on electricity in my daily life until suddenly I was without it. We all need electricity for just about everything we do. Not only does it provide the means to generate sufficient light (and by the way, candles are romantic but they don't throw off a whole lot of illumination) I discovered we also need electricity for a whole lot more.
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Hot water for example is no longer available when the power goes out. The thermostat in the water heater needs electricity to operate. Then there's the more obvious luxuries like the refrigerator, TV, Internet, air conditioning, hot showers and ... OH, MY GOD ... THE HAIR DRYER DOESN'T WORK!
During the short time we were without power I found myself automatically flipping on the light switch when I walked into a room. At one point I went outside and punched in the code for the garage door opener, realized it too was not going to work and quickly looked around to see if anyone saw me. Whenever I sat on the couch my hand automatically reached for the remote and I starred at the blank TV screen while pushing the power button.
When the lights go out you quickly find out how many dead batteries you have in the house. During our blackout I also discovered we only have one flashlight and the batteries in it were about to give out. I dug out an old transistor radio I had in the bottom of my desk drawer only to find out it was as dead as the trees in the yard. After a futile search for some fresh batteries I somehow found a pad of paper in the dark and wrote it on the grocery list.
But thanks to the diligent work of city crews in Sergeant Bluff we only had to endure the torture of no electricity for a day and a half. But because of that traumatic experience I now have a greater appreciation for the simple blessings in life.
Now if you'll excuse me I think I'll go take a hot shower and then watch a few hours of mind-numbing TV.
Terry Turner is a Prime writer who can be reached at turnert185@outlook.com
