I arrived home last night to learn that all the power was out on our street, in our local neighborhood – heck, in the WHOLE city! How strange….
There seemed to be no tell-tale fire, the sounds of rushing fire-trucks or even a sheriff slowly driving through the streets with a megaphone to announce “All is well – power will be back on shortly.”
The megaphone thing was something the sheriff did nearly 50 years ago – before the age of electronics…like cell phones, dvd’s, and even oooh….vcr’s. We had 3 channels on the TV, plus a few static-laden channels from the UHF and VHF realms of media space. Rabbit ears were used to bring them back into focus and if you missed a show, re-runs hadn’t been invented yet.
Yep, those were the good-ol’-days.
So did I Miss the End of the World AGAIN???
Let’s see – how many end of the world scenarios have there been in the recent years?
- I remember Y2K – that was a doozey! I didn’t feel it though and felt that the hype was over rated, and I was right – good thing I went to bed without a worry, because the sun got up as happy as usual.
- 911- a very sad day for so many – seemed more of a signs of the times and definitive shift from feeling safe and comfortable at home to terribly vulnerable and victimized.
- Now 2012, the Mayan Calendar’s End of Days – that one was a breath holder!
I went to bed and got up and realized – I have missed all the excitement!
The end of the world had Left Me Behind! Ugh! - The past two years we have been geared up for ‘the-end-is-near’ and the ‘end’ keeps forgetting to tap me on the shoulder to get my attention. I really feel left out of the loop!
I missed BOTH the asteroid striking the earth AND yesterdays End-of-Days!
What next? Will I miss California falling into the ocean too??? Sheesh!
As the sun began to sink behind the horizon, I began searching around the house for a candle and matches – I even tossed some wood and kindling in the fire pit – in case dinner would be an ‘eating-out’ opportunity. While searching, I realized I didn’t have any lamp oil, that maybe I should get some. I worried that IF there was a TEOWAKI event, I didn’t have my wood stove installed yet. What would I do IF the electricity really did quit? – Was I ready? I knew the answer – NO – I am not ready.
I have a gravity water filter…I made my own Berkey with two 5 gallon buckets, the Berkey filters and a spigot – good girl! But…I did not have alternative heat or cooking means for my family for the long winter ahead.
Winters in Missouri are power-outage nightmares, especially if there is an ice storm.
What about light? Did I really want to use my precious oil as a light source? No.
Do I have enough candles? I don’t think so….
What about space heaters in each room? You know the upside-down ceramic flower pots with tea-lights, or even blocks of soapstone to put at the base of the bed for warm toes.
Am I ready??? No. Ugh!
There is sooooo much to consider and do to prepare for a total TEOWAKI event!
Back to my strange, kinda freaky, feelings. Hmmm….I wondered – can they create a focused EMP that can attack only the grid that effects homes and infrastructure, and not cars or mechanical-computerized devices? I then hopped on my tablet to search these questions and realized that if the internet was up, we probably didn’t have an EMP attack. I later learned from a neighbor that it turns out a little bird took down a transformer in a nearby town. The power was out for only an hour and a half. We ate in.
Sigh of Relief!!!
(If taking down the grid is THAT easy! We’re in real trouble!)
I am glad I slept through this apocalypse, but I must keep in mind, there are many other apocalypses to look forward to, such as:
The tidal wave that supposed to sweep the east coast,
The mega New Madrid earthquake that will split our continent in two along the Mississippi river,
The Super Volcanic eruption of Yellowstone,
The Cascadia Fault Zone,
Utah’s Wasatch Front gearing-up for “The-Big-One” and let’s not overlook…
California slipping into the ocean.
If I missed mentioning your favorite apocalypse – let me know.
So many exciting adventures are ahead of us…..don’t be like me, sleeping through ALL of them.
Be Prepared.
How Much Wheat Am I Really Going To Eat? by Anne McFadden
May the Storage Be With You.
🙂
How Much Wheat Am I Really Going To Eat? 