Thursday, January 28, 2010

Winter Deja Vu?

So last year about this time we had a nice snowstorm. That evening, I was out shoveling in the wind and blowing snow, which at that time was approximately 8 inches piled up on the sidewalks and driveways. I was just about finished when I heard a pop and a sizzle, and the sky lit up with a blue smoky haze. The transformer atop the phone pole across the street lit up like a Fourth of July sparkler, sparks flying and cascading down. Then flames erupted. I started to count down: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, POOF! A big zap and the whole neighborhood went black. Which would have been fun if it weren't for the latest episode of American Idol that was about to start.

Cops, fire trucks, and finally the power company arrived. But not in time for AI. Enter the big rolling ugly RV and its ever-ready generator. Voila! Instant TV, heat, cooking, and lights while the rest of the neighborhood sat in darkness. Mock my RV will you? Take that!

So being the end of January in New England, snow is pretty much a given, despite sixty-degree temperatures earlier in the week. I awoke to a couple of inches of huge fluffy flakes that made navigating to the barber shop a bit tricky. By the time I got home and shoveled, the sun was shining and snow was melting and all was good. By early evening though, as I sat at my computer finishing my work, I saw a huge flash of lightning followed by a boom of thunder, and rain pelting my house. Such is the weather here!

About an hour later, I descend from my room with my little canine beasts to go outside. The temperature has dropped at least 15 degrees, the wind is howling, and there is now a half-inch of icy snow on the ground. Not a problem. I am about to start a fitness regimen (cough, cough!) so I'll shovel again. This time my 11-year-old son decides to help me.

Out we go, scraping the thin layer of icy stuff from the driveway and sidewalks. Suddenly the whole sky lights up, a strange tint of bluish white. Lightning? I thought so, but no thunder followed, only a distant buzzing. Hmm. Shrug. Shovel. Scrape. Bend. Toss. Then again, flash! Buzz!

I get the eerie feeling the power will go out at some point tonight. Either that or somehow my town has been transformed into Homer Simpson's Springfield and the local power plant is about to have a reactor meltdown. Either way, life is never dull!

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