Everything went black

Last night, at about 7:15 p.m. -- as I sat in the living room, a cat on my lap, peaceably reading a book -- everything went black.  And silent.  As though death had caught me unaware, leaving my spirit to ponder the meaning of the situation.

I quickly realized, of course, that the power had gone off.  Not unexpectedly.  The news media had been full of stories about an impending storm that had been gradually working its way across the Pacific from the neighborhood of the Philippines, and had the potential of hitting Seattle with force seen only once in a decade. Winds up to 150 mph had been projected for the Pacific coast.

But within the past few hours, the weather reports had become gradually more sanguine.  There were suspicions that the brunt of the storm was heading more toward Canada.  Outside my house, it had been raining all day, but the winds hadn't been exceptional.

So the blackout caught me by surprise.

I prepare for emergencies by having a number of prayers at hand, suitable for all purposes.  And a flashlight.  I groped my way into the kitchen and got the flashlight.  I returned to my chair, and resumed sitting there in the dark, hopefully, while my cats -- I suspect -- studied my face quizzically.  I waited for a fast return to power.  I posted my neighborhood's plight on Facebook.  No one else on-line seemed affected.  They were babbling on about the political campaign, the Huskies, and the Seahawks. 

It's hard to confront an environmental crisis in the middle of a bustling city, while everyone else goes about their normal business.

By about 8 o'clock I was getting bored.  I wouldn't have done well, spending nights in the Underground during the London Blitz.  I did have my iPhone, but I worried about using up all my juice before first responders could arrive to rescue me from my blackness.  Finally, I gave up.  To my cats' consternation -- they have a fine sense of time, and the appropriate time for different activities -- I went to bed.

I woke up to the dawn, sunlight flooding the room.  Oh -- that isn't sunlight.  I had thought to turn the light switch "on" in the adjoining room, before turning in.  I was thus awakened by light at about 11 p.m. 

I got up, had a late dinner (at an appropriate hour for Barcelona, perhaps), read for an hour or two, and went to bed for the second time that night.

This morning, the Seattle paper congratulated Seattle on having escaped a disaster of epic proportions.  Seattle City Light reported that only 708 customers, citywide, had lost power because of the storm.  Wow!  I feel so special.  As though I'd won the lottery.

Life is back to normal.  The entire affair was de minimis, as we say in law.  Hardly bloggable.  Sorry about that.  Maybe next time I can report on a major earthquake.