A powerful message

When we woke up without power on Saturday morning -- thanks to the snow and ice storm -- this was our only piece of emergency equipment on hand.

Mr. Darcy doesn't like a change in the regular morning routine any better than we do. His first reaction was to hide under a blanket; later he emerged to supervise neighbourhood activity from a favourite viewing perch. 

   Our neighbourhood has been extraordinarily lucky this winter in avoiding power failures, but Saturday was our turn. Thanks to the snow that pelted down all night -- and is expected to continue for awhile -- we awoke to appliance clocks blinking and a chill in the air.

Lately, we've been sympathizing with the New Brunswick residents who've been suffering without electricity for as long as 10 days after their recent ice storm, but it takes flicking your own dead light switch to understand what that means. No coffee. No cooking (our stove is electric). No furnace. No lights. No Internet connection. No radio or TV. No hot water after the tank empties. It seemed that staying in bed or reading (real books and papers only) were our only options. Except, of course, seeking out the nearest electrified coffee shop, which is what we did.

Our power was restored by noon, but it was a jolt to realize how totally unprepared we are for an emergency. In an earthquake-zone city, where we are warned the Big One could hit any time, perhaps we should do something about that.