I was planning to work from home and stay off the roads Tuesday morning, but the power went off on our part of the rural route about 9 a.m. and plunged the household into the Pre-Technology Dark Ages.
When I was a kid, our electricity would go out for extended periods every year but it was no big deal at our house. Both my parents grew up without electricity, so we dealt with it.
A Coleman lantern for light, propane for cooking and some jugs of water, extra quilts for the beds and we were good.
The biggest downer was that we still had an outhouse that was built when the house was, and my parents expected us to use it whenever the water was off in house.
Hoofing through a foot of snow on a 20-degree night gave me an appreciation for the hardiness of my forebears that I maintain to this day.
These days, things are a tad more electricitydependent. No Internet, no streaming video, no YouTube, no thermostat, no phone service if your provider breaks and - horror of horrors - no C-PAP machines come bedtime.
For people born after the Dawning of the Internet, it’s a glimpse back into life in the old days before WiFi.
Fortunately for us, the fireplace kept the house warm and there was plenty to eat. The kiddoes cooked hotdogs over the fire and we turned the garage into a refrigerator and kept the bolo, cheese and other things out there.
The propane camping lantern put out a nice light.
Not too bad a life, but I will be a happy, grateful camper when the electricity is back on.