I was driving by the Luther Burbank Center and an upcoming show caught my eye: An Electric Christmas.
I was caught between a laugh and a prayer – Yes, please! We want electricity for Christmas! And gas! Pretty, pretty please?
Who knew how dependent we were on things like lights, refrigerators or heaters? Who knew the simple joy of turning a knob on the stovetop and hearing a whoosh of gas, then a satisfying whoomph of lighting? Who knew having both hot water and the ability to dry our hair was the stuff of dreams?
I am someone who looks for the “half full” when things happen, so my take is to find some glimmer of light in the darkness. (See what I did there? A little power loss humor.)
During the weeks just before and during the Kincade Fire, we learned lots of useful things. We now know what PSPS stands for (Public Safety Power Shutoff). We know that there are zones in Sonoma County, and we know that those high-low sirens are effective attention getters, especially if they are outside your door in the pre-dawn hours.
We know that no matter how much you know the power is out, you will still instinctively reach for the light switch when you enter a room… and there will be a moment where you are surprised that nothing happened. We know that our phones die quickly, especially if we are using them as sources of information and have no internet.
Side note: Interesting how the “data usage” texts came through with no problem, despite losing a quarter of the cell towers. Huh.
When Matt, Thomas, our cat, and I were at Matt’s dad’s during the (for us, second) evacuation, we were without power. Ironically, the two houses we were evacuated from both stayed completely powered throughout the event. We hauled out our emergency kit of flashlights and batteries and fired up the old battery-powered radio to listen to the news.
What we soon realized, however, is we need to up our Emergency Kit game. Our updated kit is going to include a few more battery-powered lanterns, and a couple of these really cool inflatable, solar-powered lanterns like the one that we borrowed from our best friends. Our kit will also have a couple of games inside – Uno, a deck of cards, maybe backgammon and some crossword puzzle books – because without TV, computers or the ability to charge things, the hours linger.
Sadly, and thankfully, because the PSPS heads-up events are becoming more common, we have a bit of time to charge all devices to full capacity. I have also decided to invest in a couple of external chargers, to have as backup. (I bought one and charged it fully the night before my sister-in-law traveled with three small children across country, and when I presented it to her she literally teared up. It was quite possibly what kept her sane from San Francisco to Pittsburgh.)
Matt and I are already very practical gift-givers; our stockings include glamorous things like new chip clips, kitchen towels or replacement kitchen utensils. If we have a big-ticket item to purchase, we often tie it to a holiday: my 50th birthday, for example, saw the arrival of our new laptop, and Christmas morning we may have replacement phones under the tree. Matt’s phone is resisting all but one specific charger, and that one only with multiple tries and some muttered threats.
This year I think we’re extending our practical circle to include all our giftees: a battery-powered camping lantern for you! A portable charger for you! A battery-powered radio for you! Inflatable solar lanterns for ALL of you! Card games for everyone! Costco packs of batteries galore! AA, AAA, C, D and whatever other letters they may have!
There’s another “Wind Event” being forecast, with another possible PSPS. For now, I am glorying in turning on lights, switching on coffee makers and charging my kindle overnight. I am savoring the heater taking the chill off, and the freezer keeping food cold. I am thoroughly enjoying hot water, dishwashers, ovens and stovetops and microwaves, washers and dryers and those miracles of all miraculous things, cable and the internet.
Juliana LeRoy wears many hats, including wife, mother, paraeducator and writer. She can be spotted around Windsor gathering material, or reached at ml****@so***.net.
