Nice Chatting With You
My phone rang and the name appeared showing me who was calling. I was 3,000 miles from home vacationing with a friend at the Jersey shore. I hoped this was not an emergency. The voice on the other end was a good friend inquiring if my sister is okay. I had no idea what she was talking about. “The blackout, is she OK in the blackout? Do I need to go over to her house?”
Without the television on, we had no clue about what was happening in San Diego. The voice on the other end was pretty much clueless too, telling me her laptop was at the office and she had no radio. She was at home without any electricity and numerous cell phone calls told her she was not alone.
We quickly turned the TV on and CNN was showing my city totally blacked out. They informed us that this condition existed throughout San Diego, southern Orange County, western Arizona and northern Baja and they did not know what caused it or when power would be resumed. It was a big deal. My friend stayed on the phone while I gave her the details and told her I would check on my sister and call her back. No sooner than I hung up the phone rang again. It was my sister’s good friend telling me she can’t reach my sister and asking if I’d heard from her.
My sister is disabled, in a wheelchair and has several caregivers who take shifts. I always have their phone numbers in my cell and proceeded to call the one who had that shift. She told me they are fine, candles are lit and when she leaves another caregiver will be there. When I told her I feared Susan being left all alone, candles burning, fires starting, she assured me my sister would not be left alone and they were just fine. Just as I hung up, feeling better, the phone rang again. This time it was my daughter-in-law in Oceanside telling me the same news. She has candles but no lighter, flashlights but no batteries, she can’t reach my son, and was wondering if she should put her son and baby in the car and drive to a friend’s house in Mission Viejo.
Here I am 3,000 miles away and I’m being called by everyone for advice. I took a breath and told her to please stay put, driving is dangerous and I will try to reach my son.
Next phone call is to my son. Now I have someone very annoyed, asking why I am calling and don’t I think he has it all under control. He’s leaving work in L.A., the power is on there so he will be stopping for the needed supplies. Why am I calling him? He thinks I am interfering I guess. Now I call his wife back and tell her what I have learned. I feel better. The phone rings again. It is my other son in San Diego telling me about the blackout and how they are all fine. This son, with his Boy Scout mentality, has plenty of candles, lighters, flashlights with batteries, lanterns, food, and he’s filled up several containers with water. I was not surprised.
Now I call back my friend, my sister’s friend and my daughter-in-law to fill them all in on what I learned from 3,000 miles away. Gosh it’s great to go on a vacation and not have to deal with anything at home. Or so I thought!
Category: Life Style
