1674 Sounds of Silence

A while back we had this horrendous ice storm and power outage. Tree shrapnel is still scattered all over the county. Local woods look like someone went in with a giant weed whacker. When the ice storm was going on it sounded like someone was duck hunting in the distance. Violently loud pops going off willy-nilly.
It was one of the sounds of silence you noticed because the power had gone out. Amazing how a power outage puts you back into primitive mode. And funny too. I talked to a guy who had his power out for four days. During that time, he actually did go duck hunting. He said he really enjoyed sitting out in the wind and cold and rain and melting snow.
What he hated was coming home to no power. We don't mind camping when we're camping. We hate camping at home.
Perhaps because we're reminded about what we're missing while we're at home. The TV doesn't work. Who has a battery-powered TV? Even if you had power, you may not have had cable. The computer has UPS back up—for a couple of hours—then it's dead too. And who cares? Because, again, no cable modem working. True of your whole neighborhood as well, so no wi-fi. About half the area cell towers were out so limited phone too. Kindles, Tablets, Laptops—all good until the battery runs down—and then?
How many people caught themselves plugging their charger into a dead socket? Funny, it didn't seem to work.
I learned to re-appreciate local radio. Music, entertainment, news updates on the storm and outages—all with a 9-volt battery. The same kind I use in my smoke detectors. From the box I buy at Costco.
Thank goodness for the power of radio.
Our not-too-silent friend...
Because that sucking sound you don’t hear? It’s the sound of silence…
America, ya gotta love it.