Blackout
I guess my whole family is just prone to experiencing weird and/or cool things. My friends regularly comment on how non-boring my life is, but my sister is certainly competing for her share, too. She wasn't far from the World Trade Center two years ago, and she not only saw the smoke but suffered allergies for months. Yesterday, she became one of 50 million people whose power went out on the East Coast.My sister called me from New York City yesterday evening when I was at work (I'd just been on another adventure with detectives, but that tale will be told at another time). She was going nuts because her power had been out for six hours by that point. I could hear people having street parties in the background, and she said that she was able to get some candles, though flashlights and batteries had sold out.
As I was typing this, my sister called. It's now been 20 hours, and she still has no power. She could use her cell phone yesterday, but the battery has now gone dead and she has no way of charging it, so she called me from a pay phone with a calling card. She wanted news, she said. Any news. She didn't know if she could or should go to work, she has no idea when her power will be back on and she wasn't even sure what time it was. The best I could tell her is that some places have power, others do not and that the subway won't be running by rush-hour. The mayor has recommended that most people stay home and avoid the city. My sister managed a laugh at that; she lives in the city.
Posted by Layla at 9:32 AM, August 15, 2003
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