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Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Halloween Storm: Great Havoc



This is the pretty view of my property after the Halloween Storm. Never in my life have I seen over a foot of snow fall in October. My pumpkin never got carved, something I love to do, and I feel bad for the local kids. No trick or treating took place. The not so pretty pictures involve downed power lines on my road, destroyed trees on my property, limbs and branches everywhere. The road I live on looks like a bomb hit it for days. Clean up is going to take a while, months Frankly I did not believe the forecast and was not prepared. We never get significant accumulations of snow in October. Well, this was a historic first. A record setting storm far worse than what Hurricane Irene wrought. I was without power for almost six days. I held fast for over two days until real disaster struck. One cold powerless night I went to sleep in my son's bed and buried myself under a pile of blankets to stay warm. I even wore a wool hat to bed. When I woke up I had a bad blister on my original wound. I abandoned my home, got a guest room where my mother lives, and went to wound care. I have a blister. For anyone else this is no big deal. For me this means weeks in bed again.

Some good has come out of this. Thanks to my brother I now have a working generator. It will power my bed for about 12 hours before it needs to be refueled. I learned never ever to use heavy blankets for warmth. I got to spend a few days with my mother. She is a cool old lady as my son would say. Thanks to her generosity my skin did not evolve into a huge problem. When power came back on I had the bed company service it and move it into my bedroom. Yes, I am out of my living room. I am now like many other Americans who actually sleep in their bedrooms. This enabled me to clean my living room and move all the furniture around. My living room has never looked so good or clean.

I lost an entire week due to the storm. Nothing got done as my access is the internet was limited to my phone. I missed out on a few important issues I wanted to write about--an anti accessible taxi editorial in the NY Daily News, more on the Dr. OZ show, I missed attending an anti Euthanasia conference, and more. So yes, here I am stuck in bed but my spirits are not down. After months in bed a few weeks to endure will be a piece of cake. I am not worried about ski season or teaching next semester. The only being that is having trouble adjusting is my black lab Kate. She loved being where my mother lives. She was a star, all the old folks petted her and shared lab stories. She was thrilled by the attention. And now she is confused. She slept in the living room for a year and is now back to her crate in my bedroom. She is unsure where to sleep. But we are simply happy to be home and have power. Life is pretty basic.

9 comments:

Eric Fischer said...

Glad to hear you're hanging in there. There is nothing quite like an old fashioned whipping by 'mother nature'.
Indeed heavy blankets, like tight clothing, are the scourge of poor circulation.

The Untoward Lady said...

I'm glad you're doing okay after the storm.

I meant to mention it last post but I was reading about American chestnut trees not too long ago and how they can regrow from their root system when their above-ground tissue has been destroyed. Also, how that's been how they've survived at all given the imported blight. So, what I'm saying is at least maybe you can have one less thing you need to super-fret about.

Take care!

painting with fire said...

Glad you're ok and back home with power!

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness! I can't believe it. I remember it snowing in October in Rochester sometimes, but that's further North and it never accumulated! Wow. Just wow.

Anonymous said...

Bill- I'm delighted that you now have a working generator, because your power goes out with alarming frequency. Have you thought of getting a down comforter? They're very light but exceptionally warm, & they're much less expensive than those Hudson Bay-style blankets. I hope your skin is better soon. Take good care of yourself & let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

william Peace said...

Eric, Mother Nature sure can be a bitch. On clothes, I have great luck with neoprene. Protects skin.
Untoward lady, I will cross my fingers and hope the chestnut trees survive the winter and bounce back in spring. As you know they are very rare. The nuts I harvest are awesome. You have not posted on your blog in a long time. Hope you will keep writing.
Ruth, Not my week for sure. Did you note snow covered pumpkin?
Cait, the generator is a powerhouse. Cannot tolerate extended outages anymore.

Nessie Siler said...

William,
Glad you're back! I am a longtime lurker on your blog who thinks you make great sense in outlining what the real issues are for PWD.

I have been worried about you, as I saw you were postless for many days.

So glad you're all right...
Nessie Siler

Nessie Siler said...

Glad you're back! I am a longtime lurker who thinks you make excellent sense regarding the real issues facing PWD's.
I have been worried about you, as I saw your blog was without posts for many days.
So glad you're all right. :)

Nessie

william Peace said...

Nessie, Welcome and glad you commented. I will confess I lurk at some blogs and do not comment. Thanks for your kind words. I tell it like it is.