you never realize how much we depend on electricity until the lights go out. last night a wintery blast of cold air attacked us like a rabid dog. the wind was blustery to say the least. course, i've lived in oklahoma, where 50 mile an hour wind gusts are just another day on the plains. the wind there blows at a constant rate of 10-20 miles an hour every day.

about two and a half years ago, something happened that blew a transformer. i'd just come home from a party, where since i wasn't drinking, i had no desire to hang out with drunks, and when i arrived home, my electric was out. my new york neighbors had just stumbled home from a rolicking night out at the bars, and said they'd heard a loud pop. i ran back through the complex to the party i'd left to tell my still drinking husband that our electric was out. the party was in full swing and miracle of miracles, they still had their lights. oddly enough, the other half of the same building had been plunged into darkness. it took the power crews until the wee morning hours to get our juice back.

then barely two years ago, we had a savage ice storm. the lines were coated in thick layers of ice, and the tree branches hanging so lovely over many of the lines, broke under the pressure. we were once again plunged into darkness, in the dead of winter, in below thirty degree weather, with no heat. it was a mad scramble to all the stores in town, people buying generators, firewood and logs, all exhausted on the first day. many people died by dragging their charcoal grills inside for heat. i loaded the kids up in the truck and we scavenged the side of the roads for downed trees and twigs to keep us warm. over a million people in two states lost their power. our power was off for about four days. the poor folks whose building i can see from my window, were left without power for over a week.

so last night, the wind comes whipping up through the trees. our power waffled off and on for several minutes. when we thought everything was ok, the lights went out for good. mid-washing machine and i'd just pulled my husband's dinner from the oven. most disturbing was it happened one hour before the new season premiere of The Sopranos...something i've been looking forward to since the end of last season. when i stepped out my door, i saw all the townhomes are dark and the building in the distance to my right was also dark. but when i turned to the next building to my left, just a few hundred yards from mine, i see they still have power, as does the one on the other side of the carwash. as i sat in my candlelit living room, i saw the man in the electrically lit house behind me, watching me sit in the dark.

*sigh* where's tony soprano when you need him? may duke power swim with the fishes.