Perilous Power Outage: Through Different Eyes

by Mainsheet Reporters

The Curse of Technology

By Mallory West

My first thought the morning after the storm was “power?” After quickly discovering there indeed was no power, I headed downstairs and looked outside. To my surprise, our bright orange and blue lawn chairs had been blown all over our yard. No one in my family thought to secure our outdoor furniture before the storm. I yelled for my family, and then my siblings and I went outside to chase down our chairs before they literally flew away. Once all the furniture was secure and accounted for, then came the question: what to do? No power meant no video games, movies, or homework. My sister decided to use the day to read a book while my brother and I finally settled on a game of Monopoly. After about forty-five minutes we were in a stalemate, and he quit. That was the most fun I’d had with my brother in a while.

I realized something: technology has made it all too easy for my family and I to ignore each other and focus on our own interests. But the power outage forced us to put down our distractions and spend time with each other. Although I enjoy electric lights and hot water, sometimes I think I would like to live in a world without electricity and technology. On the other hand, it worries me that it takes a literal Nor-easter to force my brother and I to spend time together. How much time have I wasted watching videos or scrolling social media instead of spending time with those I care about? In the end, the storm carried benefits I didn’t expect and opened my eyes. I don’t want to waste any more time on technology. Now I’m making a goal to spend more time on the people that matter to me.

When Plan A Isn't Available

By Olivia Ogonowsky

On October 23rd, 2021, around midnight was when I lost power. On Wednesday morning when I woke up and saw that my phone was dead and I didn’t have power, I immediately panicked and ran to my car to charge my phone. I work at a preschool and I have to be there around 7:30 in the morning. The preschool doesn’t usually close for the day, even when there is snow, because the school knows how essential it is to have a place where kids can be cared for even when the parents still have to go to work. Because my phone was dead, I didn’t know if I had work or not and I didn’t want to be late. So I drove to the preschool hoping that my phone would be charged by then, to see if I missed any emails or texts indicating if the school was open. When I got to the Preschool, I saw that all the lights were out and no one was there, so at that point I turned around and went home because I knew we didn’t have school. 

Sure enough when I returned home, my phone finally reached 3%, and I was able to check my messages to see that the school was closed due to the power outage. I felt so strange because everyday I like to write in my little agenda book what I have to accomplish for the day, and I couldn’t think of what to do! At first I thought that maybe it would be nice to have no power for a day, I thought I would feel peace knowing that there were no distractions around me, and I could get a lot of work done. But instead, as the day went on, I felt so unproductive because I couldn’t check anything off my list that I wanted to get done! I couldn’t check off that I did laundry, homework, or work out at the gym! At that moment I knew I had to strategize a new plan to still be productive and make light of the situation.

My new plan consisted of a new method of productivity. Because I knew I couldn’t do laundry, or go to the gym because it was closed, or do homework because it was mostly all on my computer, I brainstormed some alternate ideas. On Wednesday I ended up going for a walk around my neighborhood, I picked up piles of sticks and leaves in my yard to clean up and help my mom, and I read my new book that had been sitting under my bed that I always wanted to read but didn’t have time to. At the end of my day I felt a lot better about myself knowing that despite the storm, I still managed to come up with ways to be and feel productive. Having no power for a few days taught me that it is okay to do things differently than I originally planned. In life sometimes things happen when we least expect them to, but the right mindset can take a negative situation and turn it into a positive one. 

A Blessing in Disguise 

By Viveca Stucke

I laughed at my aunt as she had us all take predications on when our power would go out. "2am!" shouted my cousin. "No, it'll be closer to 4am!" screamed my boyfriend. I thought that they were just being overdramatic, as the first I had heard of the storm was earlier that day. However, when I woke up to my 8am alarm the next morning, all the lights were off, and my mom and sister were frolicking around our apartment-- something that was not common since they leave for work and school around 7am. As I glanced at my phone, I saw the Outlook notification that school had been cancelled, and I immediately went back to sleep. I was peaceful in my sleep, until I heard a loud banging. There is a door to the outside attached to my bedroom, which is typically unused, but someone was pounding on it. As I groggily looked up, my boyfriend was peering through the window. I opened the door and he began to bellow "Viv,are you ok! I think that the storm took out the cell towers, I have no service, and the power is out, and I've been trying to contact you!" I was very confused. I had just woken up, and I did not know why he was being so serious. But after I was brought back to reality for a bit, I realized that the storm was a lot worse than I thought.

Luckily, I had a generator. It powered the lights, heat, and allowed for us to have hot water. However, our stove and wifi did not work. I was able to drive to a cell tower in the next town to allow for my family to know that I was okay, and to contact my professors to let them know that my work would be late. However, I did not anticipate for it to be as late as it was.

My power was out for 4 days, and did not return until Sunday Morning. While the power was out, I was able to read some books, play lots of games of Yahtzee, and learn about more about being self sufficient. My boyfriend taught me how to use the grill, so that I could cook some food, and I helped my aunt with the generator and keeping it running. I made a fire in our fireplace and kept it going for the whole day, and was able to hold down the fort.

This was a running joke over the 4 days. I've always been known as the smart one, and my family often jokes that I lack "street smarts". However, I grilled and cooked pork chops for the entire 8 person family, made the rest of dinner, cleaned, handled the fire, and helped out around the house the entire time.

My schoolwork schedule was messed up, but I was not bothered by it as it allowed for me to take a pause. I've been very stressed out regarding school, and this gave me a chance to take a break and focus on me. I was able to reinforce an emphasis on self care, and it gave me some time to focus on myself and my needs, due to the lack of business of my schedule.

Family Reunion

By Charlotte Peak

Living in a household of five rarely provides time for rest; between school, work and clubs it is rare that my family has dinner together during the week. The recent power outage provided a large shift in perspective and what it means to actually spend time together. The heart-stopping moment when the lights went out, and feelings of dread emerged. These feelings forced conversations that slowly died out, then emerged into long naps, and car rides that consisted of fighting over which one of us got to use the car charger next. 

Although it was tough not having power for two days, my family and I came out on the other side grateful that we were all together at the time. The saying “you don't know what you have till it's gone” described the last few days perfectly. But as we all grow into the next phase of our lives it is moments like these that we will be able to look back and reminisce of these bitter sweet times. 

A Valuable Lesson

By Jess Currier 

I never really realized how dependent on my phone and internet I am until the storm. Initially, I thought that my mom and I would not lose power- I currently live with her, and we thought that the storm would not be as bad as the news was saying it would be. As I laid in bed the morning that power went out, I fell into a deep sleep thinking I would wake up to my normal routine. However, I awoke and saw the power was off, the halls in my building pitch black. I checked my phone- to realize that I had NO SERVICE! Normally, if the power goes out I at least have some service on my phone. I started to panic, not being able to check on my loved ones that I normally text daily, and not being able to do homework tasks I needed to do. So, I embarked on an adventure to find service. I hopped in my car, and went on an aimless drive around the Cape. I finally managed to find service and parked in a parking area off the highway. I checked on social media (what an addiction!) and texted my mom and my boyfriend and was relieved to hear they were okay. When I returned home, since my phone still had no service, I decided to catch up on a little sleep as well as read, which I normally don't get the chance to do!

My mom and I went out to eat that night, and every restaurant had very long waits, but we decided to settle on the wait,  we were just happy to be in a place with warmth and electricity, and good food. When we returned home around 8pm, we were filled with joy when we saw lights on when we pulled in. It was a mix of emotions, joy for my mom and myself, and empathy for those still without power, and some with serious damage around their homes and businesses. I felt grateful that many were working hard to clean up the messes and fix the power outages, and that power is returning to those who lost it for longer than me. It was a lesson of patience, and realizing that I need to spend less time on my phone.

Note from the editors: Everyone has a story to tell. If you want to share your story through the power outage, or any other experience, email your short story to [email protected] or [email protected] to be featured.

Categories: Editorials, Events, People, Student Life