Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Looked for a summing-up thread, couldn’t find one . . . And I have no internet or e-mail access at home, till the repairman comes tomorrow.

So, I walked down the 15 flights to the street and headed through Times Square, which was kind of like a pedestrian mall, only with cars trying to run you over. Figured the buses would be running, so went to Port Authority. Closed. Surrounded by angry mob with flaming torches. My former plan of heading to the Algonquin was out, as hotels were even kicking paying guests out on the sidewalks.

Remembered the only way off the island on 9/11 was the ferries, so headed to the 38th Street piers: I am one of the dots in the photos you saw of the 30,000 people waiting for The Ferries That Never Came. Turns out the ferries are refueled electrically, so they were just bobbing helplessly in the river while we all stood around in the 95º heat and didn’t move an inch, until people started fainting and giving us more room.

Two and a half hours later, I began wondering how much of a panicked mob scene there’d be if a ferry did show up, and how long it would take some terrorist to go home and get the suicide bomb he left in his other pants. So the nice folks I’d befriended—Kris, Jake and Liz—and I decided this was No Place For Baby, and strolled arm in arm back toward midtown. Figured we could go up to Central Park, curl up under a tree and pretend it was the Depression.

We got to the Lincoln Tunnel around 7:30, and they were starting to let cars and trucks through (still no buses, of course). Managed to hitch a ride with a very nice family who refused to take my money (happily, I had a copy of one of my books on me, so I signed to to them, thanking them for “rescuing me from the Blackout of Aught-Three”). Did you know the Lincoln Tunnel has no emergency lights? Pitch-black, except for the headlights. They dropped me off on Route 3, and I managed to hike home from there.

I’m getting too old for this crap, I gotta get out of this city. It keeps trying to kill me, and I’m a larger, slower target than I was 20 years ago. First, though, gotta make arrangements with some Manhattan friends to spend the night next time and not even TRY to get back to NJ.

Thank goodness I wasn’t on a subway or elevator, and I did see people helping each other out and giving free water away. But. I didn’t see one single cop anywhere in midtown, and there was no one in charge at the ferry terminal. You’d think, they had two years to prepare for this: that cell phones would WORK in an emergency, that the ferries would run, and that tours boats would be pressed into service?

2

  1. When the blackout hit, I was pulling weeds. Later, I went inside, got on the Internet, and found out about the problems on the East Coast. (Yes, I’m a Californian, and there’s nothing wrong with that.)

  2. None of the ferries had fuel in them? Strange.

  3. I’m not suprised at all that you’d head for the Algonquin.

  4. You hitchhiked? You’re far braver than I would be.

  5. If you’re planning to move, may I recommend a nice city in Northern California, where the living is cheap?

3

In the fourth photo from the top on this site, I am one of the angry little dots in the crowd. The one with the perfect lipstick. After the first two ferries or so, they ran out of gas and just bobbed around uselessly.

I joined tghe folks in the ninth photo down—though I got much better accomodations through the blackened tunnel than they did!

4

Thank God someone else is calling it “The Blackout of Aught-Three” (I slip a “Great” in there as well). I was beginning to feel a little foolish.

My Thursday afternoon transpired as follows:

I work in a lab at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), in the middle of a '60s-era gov’t building with no windows for any of the old rooms (yes, I am slowly withering). After the powers lurches a few times then finally goes out, myself and the fellow labers stumble outside to find pretty much everyone has done the same. Taking advantage of the situation as only college students can, we play frisbee for an hour. I didn’t think much of the outage at the time, since we have a bad power grid at times, and it was hot enough to presume that everyone who had AC was running it full blast.

Initally I thought it was just my building that lost power, but soon found out that most of the local campus lost power too. I called my girlfriend across campus and, sho nuff, they’re in the dark too. But, I thought, no worries, towns lose power all the time. At about 5:00 the situation becomes a little less clear as we hear that Detroit and even New York had lost power. While I was fairly convinced the cause was natural, others thought it was terrorists immediately. The commute home wasn’t too bad, since I took a backroad, but I can’t even image how it was for New Yorkers or Detroiters. Learning the extent of the blackout was the most interesting part of it all, as the news kept getting worse and worse, and it appeared that we would be back in the Stone Age by the end of the weekend.

I concluded the evening with a lovely dinner of Pizza Rolls fried on my (gas) stove and a trip up to the observatory to take advantage of one of the least light-polluted nights in a long time. Too bad it was so hazy, Mars was looking pretty good.

5

Eve said, “First, though, gotta make arrangements with some Manhattan friends to spend the night next time…”
Manhatten has friends? Huh, who woulda thunk it. Guess ya can’t believe everything you read. :wink:

Hmmm, where was I…here in East Texas BBQing ribs and drinking beer probably. So what’s up w/ folks being afraid of the dark and all? The power goes off here like at least a couple of times a month.
Hell, every time the wind blows hard or we get any bad storm it’s lights out, usually the phones too. That happens when you live out in the woods. We lost power for three days awhile back and it was over a 100 dF at the time.

Sorry Eve I don’t mean to make light of the situation (no pun intended) I feel for you and wish y’all the best. New Yorkers seem to be a pretty tough bunch and goddamnit if there’s ever anything needed from the folks down here, we’re w/ ya.

BTW 911 still brings tears & we do appreciate the assistance w/ the shuttle situation…they’re still finding pieces. I was sitting on my front deck drinking coffee as it passed directly overhead. Pieces were found in the road and field next to my house.

It’s truly inspiring the way people keep going in the face of adversity.

Go to “Wal-Mart” or your local equivalent and get you a small Honda generator. They’re quiet, efficient and can provide enough electricity to run a refrigerator, a light/radio/and/or a fan at least.
Then again, you may never need it. But I doubt that. From what I understand it is likely to happen more frequently.

Anyway, good luck and if your ever in the neighborhood… :slight_smile:

6

16th floor of my building… stayed at the office till 6 or so, then stayed with a friend in the village. I live in Brooklyn, and the subways still weren’t running on Friday, so I spent the weekend at the Jersey shore with some friends. Not too shabby, though I have a friend who walked from Wall Street to Stillwell Avenue to get to her kids.

7

Where was I when the lights went out? I was in the best place any New Yorker could be; inside a prison. We have automatic generators, so our response to the blackout was to watch everyone else on TV.

Of course following long established NYC broadcast standards, the city stations covered the event in typical fashion: 90% coverage of lower Manhattan, 9% coverage of upper Manhattan and the other boroughs, 1% coverage of Long Island and the suburbs. No one watching would have suspected this blackout affected eight states and part of Canada.

8

I work for the local power company in Michigan, the division that sells backup generators, so we had power :slight_smile:
[Nelson]
Ha ha
[/Nelson]

At my house, we had power. Most of the communities surrounding us were down, but for some reason we stayed on. Of course, on Friday the whole rest of the state decided to pay our gas stations and grocery stores a visit. It was a madhouse.

9

We were in New Orleans, still glad that the latest tropical storm had passed us by so we didn’t have yet another 3-day power outage. Like we’ve had one of this year already and two last year.

As a result, however, we are better prepared than most New Yorkers – lots of drinking water, gas stove for indoor cooking, barbecue grill for outdoor cooking (two, actually, one with a gas side burner – there’s one built in here at our house so our more portable one sits idle), plenty of batteries for all the various flashlights and lanterns, and lamp oil for the antique hurricane lamp that can light half the main floor of the house, and of course plenty of duct tape for the windows. Even a battery-operated Itty Bitty Book Light so I can still read in bed comfortably. No generator; Papa Tiger spent 11 years on Guam and had a generator to cope with the up-to-six-week power outages, and it got stolen even though it was chained down with heavy, heavy chain. So we don’t worry about a generator these days, not wanting to donate one to someone else who’s too cheap to buy it themselves.

I’m sorry to say, Eve, that I laughed – in amazement more than amusement – at the crowds on the ferry dock. Why couldn’t the ferries fuel in New Jersey, for heaven’s sake? There was power over on that side, wasn’t there? Let’s hope they get backup fueling generators in place before the next time this happens…because it WILL happen again, no matter how much they say “Never again!”

10

I had left work a little early so the wife and I (and the kid) could go to this restaurant she’s been bugging me to take her to (the wife, not the kid).

By the time we sat down and got our drinks, the lights were dimmed and the staff was listening to the news reports on the radio.

We continued to sit and chit-chat, having several drinks because they were free, as the registers didn’t work and we were the only ones who hadn’t left as soon as it looked as if the power was going to stay off. They couldn’t give us food, though, because they couldn’t let everything spoil by opening the coolers. So we ate peanuts. After a long while we went home, snacked on an MRE I keep in the car for emergencies, and then went up the street to a neighbor’s house where we cooked out on the grill and drank a lot of beer (to keep it from going bad, of course).

The moment we said our goodbys and walked out onto their driveway, the lights came back on.

11

“Most of the communities surrounding us were down, but for some reason we stayed on.”

—Why are the lights in lost4life’s house still on? You’re the Martian! You did this!!

“Why couldn’t the ferries fuel in New Jersey, for heaven’s sake? There was power over on that side, wasn’t there?”

—Nope. Jersey was blacked-out, too.

12

Hmmm…wondering if we’ll be hearing the pitter patter of little feet in Eve’s household 9 months from now. Now THAT would be something to write home about.

"Dear Weekly World News:

Have I got a story for you…"

13

I was in my 3rd-floor office, with just two other people in the office. As soon as the lights went out, we assumed it was a big goof by one of the construction crews around here. I advocated that we all just bail and go home. Good move, as we quickly learned it was city-wide and streets were getting hairy.

While stopped on an arterial road, waiting for my turn at a traffic-light-turned-4-way stop, I got RAMMED from behind by some idiot. I was so startled I screamed like I’d been stabbed. People on the sidewalks stopped and called out to me. The guy came to my window and said “There’s no damage.” I got out, shaking, but by god he was RIGHT. I proceeded towards home. At one corner I heard a guy call out to another driver that it was in NY too. I immediately thought it might be sabotage and turned on the radio for more news. Yipes. Took backstreets (they were faster) to my son’s daycare. Turns out my husband already nabbed him.

Got home, filled my son’s kiddie pool so he could play and stay cool. Grabbed the cooler-packs from the freezer to put a few things on ice. I refused to open our fridge but my husband insisted we get some beer out. Heh. I made a one-dish pasta dinner on our propane stove’s burner, and dragged out my battery lantern from the emergency supply box.

Later that night we drove up to Brighton (20 miles north; they had power). I wanted some time in an air-conditioned car listening to the radio, and I thought maybe we could get ice. Was stunned by the lines at gas stations in that town. Stopped for a snack and drink at a restaurant, came home. My son went to bed really fast, with no lights to help him distract himself.

Spent a hot night sleeping on the couch. Woke up early Friday and ventured north again, alone. Got more batteries, and ice, and even got gas with only a 15-minute wait, all in lost4life’s town. Later, however, I heard those communities were totally gridlocked with people driving in from Detroit to get gas & supplies.

Spent a hot miserable day Friday. No work, no daycare, whole town shut down. Also had a water emergency, so we were avoiding flushing the toilets, etc. Power came on at 4 pm. Phone came back on Saturday a.m. Today, Monday, I am back at work. At home we still don’t have A/C (mechanical problem even before the outage) and are on a boil-water notice. However, my office is on a different water supply.

14

I was sitting on my computer. I had just switched on my a/c when my entire apartment…rebooted. Sure, in K’zoo, we were lucky enough to only lose power for a couple of seconds, but it still blows my mind that I was on the very rim of a gaping, thousand mile wide void in the power grid.

Anybody catch the episode of Conan O’Brien from that night? Interesting stuff.

15

Ah, there you are, Eve - thank goodness. I saw photos of commuters sleeping on city sidewalks because they couldn’t get home, and had visions of you and Ike and our other NY Dopers being at the mercy of thugs, like in The Out-of-Towners. I forgot the worm ate your home computer and you couldn’t post over the weekend. Glad to see you’re okay, if a little footsore and pissed off.

16

Well, I meant they were on in my town, but this place makes you feel like you’re in the Twilight Zone.

**

We don’t take too kindly to city folk round these parts :wink:

17

Well, you’re half-right, pug—the thugs were at our mercy. V. frustrating being home for three days with Stories to Tell, and no e-mail or iternet access!

18

So, there I am, mucking around in the server room in Queens, on the BOULEVARD OF DEATH!!! at the AIDS clinic I work at. Well, one of eight, the second most computerized one. Lights go out. Instantly! I spring into action, to the theme of about three beeping Uninterruptable Power Supplies and the howl of a dead Verizon Frame Relay Circuit. Shut down both servers, tell the people not to panic, I’ll be right back… and yes, that’s as much my job as anything, telling nurses and staff not to panic, run five blocks to the financial department, shut the remaining four servers including payroll and an ancient AIX box down… thank god for emergency batteries. While doing this, I’m making calls like mad, getting through one out of four times. I credit having a Verizon phone that’s registered to upstate NY, so it operates on roaming in the city. Was still overwhelmed, but I could get through sometimes. Get the remaining three servers in the Bronx shut down, run back to the clinic. Hook my emergency spare phone to the fax machine line, and we’ve got dial tone. Get everyone in contact. Advise the people not to leave on time. We’ve got plenty of light, and the roads are insane. Remember, this is Queens Boulevard. Wait around while we get the clients out, and buy everyone ice cream… emptying my wallet… which is bad, we have no power, and I can’t refill it… but for the purposes of morale, it’s worth it. Seven thirty, lock the building with the head staff, go home. I live in Ossining. That’s thirty miles away. It took me about forty minutes cause there are only three traffic lights on the entire trip.

That’s right, faster than normal.

Play cards, watch the stars. Man. Worth the blackout. Deep. Barbeque under the night sky.

Wake up thanks to the internal alarm clock and the battery backup in my primary alarm clock. (I have three running, because I shut them off in my sleep) Discover from the ones without power we must have gotten juice back at 4 AM. Realize I’m almost out of gas. Because I’m paranoid, I’ve got my emergency 20, and I know a station with mechanical pumps. Fill up. Hey, it’s like the 70’s! Gas lines! Drive to work. Still dead. Building’s shut and the checks for everyone are missing. High boss did come to work. Him and I and one clerical are the only ones there. He decides to go to Staples to buy a radio and flashlight. I hang in the office. Connect phones to landlines (fax machines, POTS), and become the only agency in the building with phone service, because I’m paranoid. Pull out emergency paranoia radio. Listen. Boss returns, having discovered that Staples is closed. Surprised, I am not.) Lock up at noon cause the building’s shutting down, but we’ve found where payroll got hid. (Lucky, I was one of three people that showed up… and the people responsible for payroll went to Guyana for vacation.)

Go home. Groove.

Monday: Rebuild network, swear at Verizon, get frame relay up. All agency buildings are fully armed and operational.

It’s good to have a disaster plan and motivated people.

(Eve, check your pit thread)

19

thanks to the quick action of valley forge, i had lights, fans, and sdmb.

something completely different, eve, have you tried christopher and banks in your denim skirt search? i went to c and b on sat and they had quite a selection and they were on sale.

20

Well, I was in Georgia…

Hey! Somebody had to make the joke. :smiley: