A Tale of Two 24 Hour Power Outages…

Twenty-four hours doesn’t sound like a long time, does it? After all, twenty-four hours is a single day… a mere fraction of the week. Sadly, a single day usually passes like the blink of an eye when things are normal. During an emergency (such as a power outage) twenty-four hours could seem like an eternity!

Let’s see what life would be like for The Smiths (an unprepared family) and The Millers (a prepared family) during such a power outage:

Friday, 6:33 am

The Smiths The Millers
Mr. Smith wakes up wondering why his alarm didn’t go off. Darn it! Late for work. No time to do much but get dressed and grab a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, the coffee machine is set to start brewing after the power went out… guess he’ll have to settle for coffee at work. Mr. Miller woke up right on time (6:00 am) thanks to his battery-backup alarm clock only to realize the power was out. No problem, he thought… grab a few Sterno cans from the camping gear to heat individual cups of water and we’ll have single serving coffee in no time.

Friday, 7:10 am

The Smiths The Millers
Mrs. Smith gets the kids ready for school only to realize they haven’t made their lunches yet. She briefly considered letting them eat at school but realized she doesn’t have enough money in her purse to do so. Since she figured the power will come back on shortly like it usually does she has her kids make their lunches like normal. Ten minutes later she walks into the kitchen to find that lunches had been made as instructed only the refrigerator door was left wide open the entire time! Mrs. Miller gets the kids ready for school only to realize that, though lunches had not been made yet, it’s best to keep the refrigerator closed as much as possible. As such, she figured she would treat the kids to lunches at school… pizza day always makes them happy. Since she always ensures she has some cash on hand she gives each of them $5 and tells them to have a good day at school. She makes a note to start having the kids make their lunches the night before.

Friday, 7:50 am

The Smiths The Millers
Mr. Smith is in a hurry today but being a good husband and father (and already being late for work) offers to drop off the kids at school which Mrs. Smith quickly accepts since she’s late for work herself. On his way to drop the kids off Mr. Smith realizes he’s nearly on empty! No time to get gas… a bit of math says he can make it to work and probably home too if need be but he’ll try to get gas on his way home if he can. Mr. Miller always takes the kids to school on his way to work. As he always ensures there is at least a half of a tank of gas in each vehicle at all times there were no worries of being able to make it to work and back. He’ll try to get gas on his way home if he can.

Friday, 5:32 pm

The Smiths The Millers
Mr. and Mrs. Smith tend to return home around the same time each day. Neither of the Smith’s were able to stop by the gas station on their way home and, sadly, are both near empty. Regardless, they have bigger problem as they both realize the power hasn’t returned. Now they’re getting frustrated and want to call the local power company but can’t look it up because the power is out and the cell phone coverage has been spotty all day. Since it’s rather chilly outside they hurry inside to warm up. Mr. and Mrs. Miller tend to return home around the same time each day. Fortunately, Mrs. Smith was able to get away during lunch and fill up her car. Mr. Smith knew this because they had been able to stay in contact via text messaging throughout the day regardless of the spotty cell phone coverage. Mr. Smith wasn’t able to get to the gas station but he was able to contact the power company (he has the number programmed in his phone) to learn the problem is more widespread than initially assumed. Since it’s rather chilly outside they hurry inside to warm up.

Friday, 5:35 pm

The Smiths The Millers
As they live in the upper latitudes and it’s winter, The Smith’s walk inside to find their kids not on their electronics but, instead, huddled around a single flashlight, bundled up in their coats and mittens, all eating cereal. Wondering why they’re eating cereal and before dinner, no less, the oldest recalled mom stating this morning that if the power didn’t come back on they would either need to eat everything or throw it out. The kids figured they were doing a good thing trying to eat food in the refrigerator. 🙂 Regardless, the youngest complained that the milk tasted warm but she ate it all anyway. Seems the power didn’t come back on like it normally does. Hopefully the kids won’t get sick eating bad milk! Now, what to do about it being a bit too cold in here? As they live in the upper latitudes and it’s winter, The Millers walk inside to find their kids not on their electronics but, instead, huddled around the wood stove (the oldest got it started since she’d been taught well), surrounded by a myriad of flashlights and lanterns, all playing a board game. The youngest wanted to eat cereal for dinner but the older ones knew mom and day wouldn’t be happy to hear they’d spoiled their dinner so they distracted the youngest by playing a board game. Realizing that the power had been off all day long dad figured he should run the generator but instead opted to connect the inverter to the car and “top off” the fridge since there was no real reason to drag out that generator just for the fridge. Mom then instructed the kids to put away most of the lights and lanterns and to get ready for dinner.

Friday, 6:15 pm

The Smiths The Millers
Mrs. Smith had planned on cooking a nice meat lasagna she had been thawing in the refrigerator since the previous night but now realized she had no way to cook it since the oven doesn’t work. Moreover, she’s beginning to wonder now if it’s honestly safe to eat since the refrigerator is obviously warmer than it should be. Time for plan B: cook some steaks on the BBQ! Hey, disasters aren’t always all bad, are they? Now, how to thaw them quickly? Mrs. Miller had made some tasty-looking chicken enchiladas–as one of her freezer meals she keeps handy–which has been thawing in the refrigerator since the previous night. Although she could get out the propane camp oven to cook it she figured everyone would be happier eating some steaks on the BBQ! Hey, disasters aren’t always all bad, are they? To thaw them quickly and safely, she simply submerged the still-packaged steaks in cold water for about 30 minutes to get them to thaw faster. Now to cook them.

Friday, 6:50 pm

The Smiths The Millers
Mr. Smith fired up the BBQ grill, wondering how much propane he has left and if it will be enough to not only thaw the still frozen steaks but to cook them as well. The kids also wanted green beans and, though he didn’t bother to purchase a BBQ grill with a side burner, he figured he *should* be able to heat them in a pot if he shoved over the steaks enough. Hopefully they didn’t ALSO want mashed potatoes. Mr. Miller fired up the BBQ grill, knowing full well that this tank had plenty of propane left by reading the propane gauge. Even so, he has a few in storage just in case. The kids choose green beans as their side dish and since this BBQ stove has a side burner it was easy to heat up a few cans. The kids also wanted some baked potatoes so mom wrapped them in aluminum foil and tossed them on the grill for a while before cooking the steaks.

Friday, 7:55 pm

The Smiths The Millers
Mr. Smith eventually got the steaks to first thaw and then cook properly, thankfully, but it took longer than expected and he never did try to cook mashed potatoes. Everyone sits down to eat with their typical dinner settings only to realize that dishes are going to be a bit more difficult to clean with no hot water. Maybe they’ll just wait until tomorrow. The Millers are sitting down to a tasty and fun BBQ meal. To avoid lots of dishes later Mrs. Miller gets into their supply of paper goods and plastic silverware which is typically never used but for such occasions. Once finished, into the trash everything goes and now it’s time for some family fun time.

Friday, 8:25 pm

The Smiths The Millers
Dinner is finished but the kids are whiny since they’re bored with no video games, no television, no internet, and absolutely NOTHING to do as they repeatedly point out. Where did we put those board games, Mrs. Smith wonders to herself? Dinner is finished and the kids are excited to have a family fun night playing a variety of board games, from Chutes and Ladders to Candyland and more! Heck, why not try the Doom and Bloom SURVIVAL! Board Game?

Friday, 8:55 pm

The Smiths The Millers
After about a half hour of attempting to entertain the kids without electronics, the parents give up and send the kids to bed. The youngest protests over and over again because she’s scared of the dark with no emergency light. To make matters worse the middle child whines that the house is getting downright frigid! She’s right. It’s cold in here. Mom and dad give in and let the kids sleep on their floor .The kids quickly gather up all of their blankets and pillows and make a bed on the floor. Perhaps everyone will be cuddling in the same bed later that night? The family is still having fun playing board games but it’s getting time to put the youngest to bed. She protests but their emergency lights also function as a night light so there’s no fussing to be had. The middle child attempts to complain that it’s “too cold” in here but she knows good and well that the wood stove is heating the house just fine and will continue to do so throughout the night. The oldest knows better and just goes to bed.

Saturday, 6:00 am

The Smiths The Millers
The weekends should be a day to sleep in but Mr. Smith always enjoyed waking up early on Saturday and Sunday to watch the sun come up while enjoying his morning coffee. Sadly, the power still hasn’t come back on, the coffee isn’t brewing, and it’s really is near freezing inside. To make matters worse, he’s almost positive much of the food in the refrigerator is going bad and the freezer food is beginning to drip with condensation. If the power outage lasts into the night he’s not sure if he has enough propane to cook another meal, enough batteries to power a flashlight (let alone a second flashlight), or enough gasoline in the cars to get to the store and back… plus the cell phones are about dead! He begins to wonder how his neighbors are fairing and if they’d be able to share whatever they might have? The weekends should be a day to sleep in but Mr. Miller always enjoyed waking up early on Saturday and Sunday to watch the sun come up while enjoying his morning coffee. Sadly, the power still hasn’t come back on and the coffee isn’t brewing. No problem. Since he had prepared for this eventuality he got out their camping coffee percolator and setup the #10 can stove the night before just in case. In no time at all he’ll have hot water boiling and fresh, hot coffee. Since he had plenty of propane (as well as other cooking options such as a solar oven) there were no worries about cooking meals. He figured if the power outage went on long enough he would have the kids switch to a solar lantern to conserve batteries. He also wondered how the neighbors were doing. After all, he wouldn’t want old Mrs. Jenkins to go hungry or freeze. As soon as the sun rose he would go check on her and possibly offer some emergency buckets to their other neighbors.

Saturday, 6:33 am

The Smiths The Millers
Just as Mr. Smith began wondering which neighbor would be the BEST people to go talk to, the power kicked back on. A faint bit of disbelief and a certain amount of joy crept across his face. Wow, he though. It’s only been twenty-four hours and I can’t believe how long that power outage seemed to last! Fortunately, he didn’t have to go begging the neighbors this time but might go see how they’re doing and to see how they fared through the night. After all, the Millers have three kids just like he did. Just then the youngest scrambled downstairs asking for pancakes. Ok, honey, we’ll make pancakes. He forgot all about his worries and went back to “life as usual.” Just as Mr. Miller went into the basement to grab a few charity emergency buckets for the neighbors the lights flickered on. He paused for a moment and confident the power was going to stay on, returned upstairs to finish his coffee. He figured he would still go check on old Mrs. Jenkins just to be sure she was fine. He also figured he would stop by the neighbors to see how they had fared through the night and to possibly plant “the seed” to prepare for this the next time it happens or worse. After all, the Smiths had three young kids just like he did. Just then the youngest scrambled downstairs asking for pancakes. Ok, honey, we’ll make pancakes. He reminded himself that it’s “good to be prepared” for precisely these scenarios.

How about you? Which family are YOU going to be???

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My latest book, The Survival Blueprint: How to Prepare Your Family for Disaster, can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJ49Y5X4

Comments

3 responses to “A Tale of Two 24 Hour Power Outages…”

  1. Rev. Dr. Michael E Harris

    Nice write-up. I agree with undeRGRound about the family names. I will review my preparations. I did survive an ice storm that left us without power for six DAYS. I had a real fireplace in those days.

  2. Dave

    if wide spread power out, would there be no school, no gas
    no any thing.

  3. Could have just as well called them the Sheeple family, and the Prepared Family 😀

    Great write-up, kinda makes you want to tweak your preparations! In a major (or protracted) SHTF, you may not want to have full-time power and lights, even if you have an off grid backup system. Prying Eyes…

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