When those leaves blowing across the road are brown, we know fall has arrived. When they’re blowing green, we Okies know that indicates thunderstorms and damage. Obviously, I’m not sleeping like I ought to be.
The drive to the shop had downed trees in the headlights – a couple of them anyway, good-sized, but confined to front yards. There were large branches in the roadway, but fortunately they were in the other lane and I didn’t even have to swerve.
Travis Meyer has just reported that 30,000 folks are without power – the house I just drove away from among them. That’s why I rolled out of bed and donned the clothes. I had an idea I could buy some QT ice and save the inventory in the bistro kitchen.
No more than a couple of pitch-black-driving blocks later, I saw lights shining over several driveways. Emergency lights, I figured. Later, I decided that the power grid must split right down the building-subdivision and the houses to the east still had power.
Sure enough, Reasor’s, Kum-&-Go, and Sonic are operating with lights blazing. Still, along the course of my drive there were dramatically waving trees and more debris and blowing leaves. The green ones ripped from from the trees. On Main Street in the newly-named Rose District, at least one stop sign is blown down and a couple of orange traffic barrels are on their sides.
Power at the bookshop? We’re blazing with lights here. (Couldn’t have been reporting the latest KOTV news offerings without that power thing.)
Which brings us to a couple of present-day technological difficulties. When the bedroom fan choked and quit, it immediately grew warm, but I could switch on the Kindle and check out the latest from the TV weather folks. Wrong-a-roo. Remember that wireless modem thing? Powered by electricity?
It’s dead.
No connection. No problem, I thought. I’ll just read until the power comes back on. (I’m admitting here that I have that tech in hand. Gotta know what a bookseller is up against, you know…) Then, I realize that I can read until the power drains down and I won’t be able to charge it back. No electricity. Since its main function is to serve as my alarm clock, I can’t afford to let the battery run down and risk oversleeping. I am able to do that sort of thing, you know. No power, no lights, no alarm clock? No fun.
That’s when I decided I ought to check on the kitchen and the fridge and freezer situation.
As it turns out, all is well here. Now the KOTV folks are reporting 42,000 homes without power and some twisters down by Eufaula, others near Tenkiller. Circulation feature. Feature, like it’s a drive-in double-bill or something. McAlester, Hartshorne, Pittsburg County, my old stomping grounds – under the gun: “You need to take cover,” they are imploring, as the storm barrels through at more than 50 miles an hour.
I had lodged the store sign from the old location into a wedgie-location, thinking it would not move. It did. Smacked up against the van. New dents are not noticeable up against the old dents. Apparently, there were some strong winds downtown BA, even if the power stayed on.
I’m thankful that the keep-cold items are safe. I feel bad for the 42-thousand (at last update) without power, because I was plenty beyond-warm when I abandoned the darkness for a drive to the shop. The Air-Con is working fine in the bookstore, thank you very much.
It looks like a bed-down here is in the works as it’s already early morning. (Actually, no bed here – more like a balance-on-some-chairs thing. On the up-side… I can’t be late getting here in the morning.
Those of you with the smarty-phones will be able to keep in touch. High-tech. Those of us who have washed our phones in the past week are slaves to internet hotspots. I hope you have power and that alarm clock is working fine in the morning.
If not, you have the perfect excuse for sleeping in on Wednesday.
If you’re out and about, come visit!
McHuston
Booksellers & Irish Bistro
Rose District
122 South Main St, Broken Arrow OK!
