The Night the Lights Went Out
a short story by Prepping Granny
I woke with a start from a sound sleep. I had no idea what woke me but I knew some thing was wrong. Really wrong. I looked at my digital alarm clock and it was dark. The lights on it were not working. Thinking that maybe my old clock had finally given up the ghost, I turned on my bed side lamp. Click. Nothing. Click again. Nothing. Darn! A bad storm must have come through and I slept through it. Sleeping through a storm is nothing new for me since I'm deaf.
Thinking that a storm took the power out and that my husband fell asleep watching television again, I grabbed the flashlight I keep by the bed, put in my hearing aids, and made my way to the living room. He was sitting on the couch, bathed in the glow of an oil lamp, trying to find a station on the battery-operated radio. I asked him if there had been a storm and he said, "No storms tonight". "How long has the power been out?" I asked and he responded with "About an hour." He then proceeded to tell me that the house phone and his cell phone weren't working. I knew if his cell phone wasn't working mine wasn't, either.
He said that he had been trying for about half an hour to get a radio station but had been unable to find one. I grabbed my NOAA radio and flipped it on. As I slowly turned the dial, there was nothing but silence. I went through the process until I found one that was sending the emergency radio signal followed by an announcement that the government was asking all people to remain in their homes and not venture out. It was a recording that just kept repeating so I turned the radio off. No sense wasting batteries, I thought to myself.
Taking an oil lamp, I lit it and headed for the kitchen to put a pot of water on the stove to make some instant coffee for my husband and a cup of tea for me. At least we still had gas in the stove. I finished making the coffee and tea and went back into the living room. Plopping myself next to my husband, I asked him what he thought had happened. He had no idea. We talked for a bit, in between sips of hot beverages, then decided to get some rest. I stretched out in the recliner and he took the couch. Morning would come soon and then maybe we would learn what was going on. Little did we know that the morning sun would bring us a big surprise.
Thinking that a storm took the power out and that my husband fell asleep watching television again, I grabbed the flashlight I keep by the bed, put in my hearing aids, and made my way to the living room. He was sitting on the couch, bathed in the glow of an oil lamp, trying to find a station on the battery-operated radio. I asked him if there had been a storm and he said, "No storms tonight". "How long has the power been out?" I asked and he responded with "About an hour." He then proceeded to tell me that the house phone and his cell phone weren't working. I knew if his cell phone wasn't working mine wasn't, either.
He said that he had been trying for about half an hour to get a radio station but had been unable to find one. I grabbed my NOAA radio and flipped it on. As I slowly turned the dial, there was nothing but silence. I went through the process until I found one that was sending the emergency radio signal followed by an announcement that the government was asking all people to remain in their homes and not venture out. It was a recording that just kept repeating so I turned the radio off. No sense wasting batteries, I thought to myself.
Taking an oil lamp, I lit it and headed for the kitchen to put a pot of water on the stove to make some instant coffee for my husband and a cup of tea for me. At least we still had gas in the stove. I finished making the coffee and tea and went back into the living room. Plopping myself next to my husband, I asked him what he thought had happened. He had no idea. We talked for a bit, in between sips of hot beverages, then decided to get some rest. I stretched out in the recliner and he took the couch. Morning would come soon and then maybe we would learn what was going on. Little did we know that the morning sun would bring us a big surprise.