Awesome and Terrifying

Disclaimer right at the beginning…

I am not a refugee. Never was, in the true sense of the word.

When we lost power last Saturday we had one rough night. The rest of them were spent either at a world class resort in southeastern Connecticut, or at my sister in law’s house in suburban Boston.

I never thought I would starve, or freeze.

I did think there was the possibility of death or injury by falling trees or power lines.

I even thought about the possibility of civil unrest…that there might be those who would take advantage of the temporary breakdown in the normal rules of society.

But my brain doesn’t choose to stay in that place.

But I’m fully aware of how good I have it.

Anyway, this is a story about last Saturday night.

Winter Storm Alfred, the first major October snowstorm in the northeastern U.S. since 1987.

My wife was finishing up a conference she was speaking at in Las Vegas.  So it was just the girls and me.

The power had been off at that point for about five hours.

We had the candles going.  We had the flashlights ready.  We were all huddled into Jill’s bedroom, which was away from the side of the house where falling trees could do the most damage.

Around midnight I remembered a propane tank that was outside in the possible path of a falling oak. Not particularly looking for any explosions that night, I put on my snowboots and headed out.

I made a mad dash, picked up the tank, ran under a bunch of shaking trees and put it safely in the middle of the front lawn, where there was no danger of it being smashed.

Then I just sat on the front porch and took it all in.

There wasn’t much to see, since all the streetlights were out.

It was more the sounds.

Our neighborhood is heavily forested. Lots of older oak and pine trees. It borders reservoir property, so the woods are abundant.

Every few seconds I heard a deep, resonant crack.

One of those tall, majestic trees bent and cracked under the weight of the snow.

It was too early for a storm.  The trees weren’t ready for the 12 inches of wet snow that fell.

Some of those cracks were followed by a secondary boom.

The sound of a tree hitting a house.  Or a fence.  Or a car.

And the scattered thunder and lightning with the occasional siren from a fire engine in the distance.

There was nothing to do but take it in.

It was awesome and terrifying at the same time.

We got through the night. Next morning, we surveyed the damage.

Three trees down on the property, including the dogwood in the front yard.  I’ll miss my old friend.

Lots of branches down, including one that hit the garage. It’ll need a patch job.

And every one safe and sound.

An eight day odyssey of finding the warmth of family and the concern of friends, not to mention our own resourcefulness.

And knowing just how rich we are.

What if it went the other way? What if the propane tank got hit? Or a live wire came down in a bad place?

I’m not thinking too deeply on that one.

Here’s what I am thinking on…

Control what you can control.

Get yourself prepared for whatever comes along.

Learn to appreciate and enjoy the things you don’t control.

Believe it or not, that appreciation gives you more control over things and circumstances than you thought possible.

Successful people prepare.

Failures perseverate.

Successful people enjoy.

Failures enrage.

Successful people see opportunity in everything.

Failures close the door of possiblity.

Your Fortunate Friend,
Larry

November 4, 2011 · Filed Under Uncategorized

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One Response to “Awesome and Terrifying”

  1. Larry Hochman » Blog Archive » HOW TO ATTRACT: Be Like The Fire Department on November 20th, 2011 9:17 pm

    [...] was all business.  It knocked out our power for six days. If you want the details, check out AWESOME AND TERRIFYING.  It tells the tale in a pretty compelling [...]

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