Sep6

“you have to jump into disaster with both feet.” ― chuck palahniuk

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Pato-1

worst walk ever

yesterday

on a very, very hot

late summer’s eve

humid as hell

headed out

on a

forced death march

downtown

all in the name

of being healthy

and

enjoying the city

at eye level

when i

noticed the signs

that i was headed

right

new line cinema

looked up

37301116

into a black cloudy sky

rain

the air began to swirl

 rain blew sideways

into my eyes

i had happened

into

a

wizard of oz

storm

somehow

and

made a decision

to head on back

lightning_south_annarbor-thumb-590x393-44841

lightning flashed

a mile to go

put my phone

in my shorts

to save my connection

to the world

i-pod

deep in my pocket

 to save the music

people running

kind of scary

as i

quickly

transformed

into

an

unwitting

wet t-shirt contestant

cut through the park

ran into wall

of construction

turned around

shortcut down street

closed off

for resurfacing

finally made it

home to the cottage

nacho the cat not the food

was outside and missing

flipped on light

to put key in door

no light

opened door

glowing in the dark

pitch black

only light

came from my eyes

power out

fumbled for flashlight

demo1

apparently it is a 1910 model

didn’t have much effect

on the darkness

so, so sweaty

and

rain sodden

no hot shower

cell phone

powering off

internet gone

decided

only thing to do

was go to bed

stumbled up the dark stairs

still no cat

still no light

room was 157 degrees

or so

no fan

no air

heard sirens

fire department

on my street

buzzing

 flashes of electric light

couldn’t just lay

on the bed

naked

and

fall asleep

in all my glory

trying

to cool things down a bit

had to be on high alert

kept the teva’s on

shorts, shirt

ready to flee

at a

moment’s notice

drifted off

dreaming of a better day to come..

-bc4c9ed9732e5814

woke up this morning

bright and cool

nacho the cat not the food

came home

to the cottage

police tape

decorated

 the town

transformers blown

power lines down

mighty trees

toppled

car

in garage

at mercy

of electric opener

walked

back downtown

to a

 friendly coffee shop

read

and

wrote

and

talked to other

blackout neighbors

and

had

a

very, very, very

large

coffee

power company

estimates

i will

have power

restored

by

wednesday

night

at 11:30

or so

—

“the major difference between a thing that might go wrong

and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong

is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong

it usually turns out to be impossible to get at or repair”

– douglas adams

—

 credits: planetcurioso.com, new line cinema

79 responses »

  7. Weather for ducks. So many without hydro. ❤ ❤
    We had thunder and LIGHTening storm last night. Thank goodness I pulled the power cord on my laptop just before it hit. Black night and no other power. Surprised internet still working. Our blackout only lasted about 10-15 minutes.

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  9. I hope the “wet t-shirt contestant got at least 1st place for poetic commentary while running, keeping the electronics dry, keeping her mind on the cat (nacho), and having to sleep in 157 degrees or so….you would fit right in here in Hurricane Alley gulf coast. What a trooper! Hope you get your electric back soon. The longest we ever went was 14 days, but that was during Ike, and Alicia before that. Hope the high line Calvary is on the way to restore you in short order.

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    • thanks, tracy and that’s the way to get through things that are challenging i think. what else can you really do? yep, hoping for sooner too, but it doesn’t look too likely at this point –

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  18. What is there about storms and coffee emporiums, like Duncan Donuts, that draws folks like a magnet? I recall doing the same when we lived in Central New York. I sure do hope power is restored soon and glad that you’re OK. I love the images you created in your story.

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  20. All the details and all the tragedies are included. I hate to hear it may be until Wednesday to get the lights and electricity back! Can you find a kind soul (with power on) to allow you and Nacho to ‘bunk’ with them, if there is anyone not too far away to have you as a guest? Oh, my fingers are crossed, loved the wet t-shirt and the way you put humor into this. No, you cannot lie around naked, just in case there may be a house-to-house check by the local fire department or rescue squads…

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  21. Nothing like a wicked storm to get the old creative writing juices flowing beth. Not good about the power loss though. The goose in shoes is a beauty. I guess you’ll be checking the weather radar online before heading out again? 😦

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      • My favorite Douglas Adams ….. The major problem, one of the major problems, for there are several, with governing people is that of who you get to do it. Or, rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them. To summarize: it is a well known and much lamented fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made president should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem. – Douglas Adams, The Hitch Hickers Guide to the Galaxy

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  27. Well, at least your cottage wasn’t in the way of one of those trees. And Nacho was okay. You didn’t even have to follow the yellow brick road to find your way home! Five days without power is a long time, though. I went through a week once after a hurricane. Went to bed early, woke up early, I was rested and happy, actually, as I recall. No hot beverages…

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  32. At first, I was thinking this was from the perspective of the goose with sandals. So, I had to laugh when I realized my mistake. Then, I missed it the first time, where you use the movie sign as part of the sentence structure “right into the storm”. This has a very stream-of-consciousness, poetic flow to it. It might help people like me if you punctuate some of the sections where things get a little confusing. Nacho, the cat not the food, always tripped me up, even after I was expecting it. I suspect someone enjoys their e.e. cummings.

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    • ah, glad you reread it for clarification. it was from the human perspective, indeed. (mine). sorry the flow can be awkward at times without punctuation or caps, and yes, i’m a cummings fan as you suspected. ) thank you so much for reading and commenting – beth

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  34. I know you guys up in the upper mid-west have bad weather like we do in tornado alley in Texas but I didn’t think it got to that extreme at times so I hope you don’t get to bad of weather in this coming year (2016) and that you don’t lose power. Hope also that you don’t lose nacho the cat not the food in another storm. I’m really glad that all is good with you and your all okay.

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  36. Thank you for sharing this! There is a wonderful relief in knowing one is not alone in the frustrations of everyday life being turned on its ear now and again. In a summer of heat waves, forest fires, flood and drought, this seems especially good to remember.

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