Beer and chainsaws

There have been a lot of both since hurricane Ike hit the Miami Valley, and I don't mean separately. I mean beer drinking, chainsaw toting folks - ready to conquer the many fallen tree limbs strewn all around the area. It starts out as neighbors helping neighbors and it turns into a full out yard party complete with bonfire.

There are also many drivers who appear not to understand the etiquette of a four-way stop.

At first, I thought our power may have gone out because I failed to properly install the new wall outlets in my house. (yes, i have become an electrician since i've been laid-off...it's not harvesting corn, but it's pretty darn close). Thankfully, that was not the case or I would have never heard the end of it.

My father-in-law came to visit about the same time Ike did. He's a true storyteller. While he does tell many of them over and over and over again, occasionally there's a new one mixed in the bunch. We sat in the dark for three nights, listening to him and to a piece of crap weather radio I bought a few years ago - and to an AM station I would never listen to normally. It was our only contact with the outside world (except for when we drove around in our car, or went to my mom's to watch cable or go online).

So, perhaps I exaggerated the isolation part a bit...but nonetheless, being without power for a few days is a lesson in patience. It's also a lesson in how much I utterly and completely depend on electricity. Thank goodness I now know how to install a small piece of it in my home.

Now I've got my eye on that chainsaw in the shed.