Sandy is a bitch and all of the evil female characters in my story will be named that from hence forth! Yes, I know that is an unfair generalization for those who carry that name, but six days without power is a long time to suffer without the internet.
I'm not complaining though. We didn't have significant damage from the water or the wind, which was good. The fact of the matter was that we were well prepared and didn't have any problems at all. I had lamps and fuel enough to last three weeks, food for a month, and kerosene heater (with CO detectors) to keep nice and toasty through it all. I had a car full of gas and a go-bag packed in case we had to evacuate. I was a boyscout!
I've spent the past two days getting my computers and other equipment checked out in response to the possibility of damage from the electrical surges that came with the power outage. Fortunately, my experience with a lightning strike (when I lost the last chapters of Quatyl) came through with most of my stuff off the grid when the power went down. I will be returning to a regular posting schedule soon.
The past few days have given me insights into how people respond to disasters. It was not pretty. I have lost patience with the incompetent, incapable, and insufferable. I met people who bought generators, but no gasoline to run them. They figured the gas stations would be open. I ran into folks who were shocked that the corner convenience store wasn't open to sell coffee the morning after the storm hit. I heard people trying to find the nearest open burger burner because they didn't any food set aside. These people didn't have any major damage to their places, but were wailing in misery as if they had just lost their first born child.
In a lot of ways, the people here were lucky. I know that a lot of folks lost their homes and I feel for them, but it could have been even worse. The storm could have been stronger. The weather could have been a lot colder. You'd be hearing about people freezing to death or dying from carbon monoxide poisoning by now.
So, I now have material for a story about a crisis. My characters should be so realistic that they won't be credible. To quote one of my neighbors, "I figured the electricity would come back on right after the storm passed. It's been out a whole day already." I avoided that particular individual after the power had been out for more than three days. I don't want to tell her that I'm amazed we have power, telephone, cable tv, and internet just one week after getting hit with a storm that destroyed or severely damaged 85% of the homes in one of the towns less than 5 miles from where we live.
Now we have a Nor'Easter heading our way. That ought to be interesting. Well, I'm ready!