My power went out this morning in the middle of our fun wind storm. It was just as the leading edge fo the front went through, at about 8:20 AM, and after one big gust the power just shut off. A quick after-flicker of power ensued, but after the power immediately went out again, I knew I had to pack up and come to the office.
My neighbor, who moved to Cazenovia late last winter, called last night to ask about how frequently the power goes out and which outage had lasted the longest. In the comfort of forced-air heat and mindless television, I couldn't really remember all of those times that we'd scrambled for flashlights and a radio, so I told him once or twice a year we'd lose power, and that our longest outage was about a day and a half after the 1998 Labor Day storm.
But this morning, while high-tailing it out of the house, I realized that we probably lose power for an hour or so at least a dozen times a year, and that we have extended outages of two hours or more at least 2-3 times per year. I don't supposed this is markedly different from what other Central New York communities - even cities - experience in our changeable weather.
I wonder if any of our readers with a knowledge of "historic" Cazenovia have memories of power outages. I know it was not that long ago that many homes were not even equipped with electic service, and many folks kept their perishable foods in iceboxes and root cellars. Times change, but power outages remind us our hold on modern life is sometimes tenuous.
Well, the lights are flickering in my office, so I'd better get this posted before my building is the next power victim!
Posted by jimj at February 17, 2006 09:17 AM | TrackBack