THE POWER OF POWER

One of the most inconvenient things to experience is losing electric power during 102° weather. (Now, I didn’t say, “The worst thing, I said, “one of the worst.”)

The recent storm which went through on Friday, June 29, destroyed hundreds of power poles and left a path of destruction for miles. We were one of many, many residences that did not see the power restored for eight days. What an experience.

The first night of the power outage we trekked to Van Wert and attempted to buy ice and water. Needless to say, everyone was thinking the same thing and alas all the ice was already sold.

We did get lucky and got a case of bottled water and thought that should last us and we thought that our power would only be out for maybe a day. (Of course, we were charged $6.25.)

Saturday came and we began to get rumblings around town that this storm had been very, very vicious and there were thousands without power. We also were told it would be several days before it would be restored.

The temperatures steadily rose and hit close to 104°. In a day’s time, we became hot and a little bit cranky. It was nice and cool just to jump in the car, turn on the air conditioning and ride around.

In our little village, everyone has septic tanks and wells, so we did not have water for toilets, baths, showers or anything. By Saturday afternoon, we were panting and trying just to endure the heat, the dark, and lack of conveniences.

We went to a nearby town and thought we would perhaps buy a small generator. We were in luck as one of the big farm stores was taking prepaid orders for generators and they had a truck load coming in on Sunday evening. (Perhaps this would help us.)

We returned to the store on Sunday night to pick up the generator. Everyone was to drive to the back of the store’s loading dock and wait their turn in line. It took us over one hour to pick up the generator, but it was worth the wait.

It took time to get the generator hooked up at home and we were very careful what we plugged into it. I had already lost all of the food in my refrigerator, but my freezer contents had stayed frozen. Needless to say that is one appliance we connected.

While the generator was a big assistance, the temperature inside the house still hovered near 85°. It would be another long week before we would get our power restored.

When I complained, and trust me I did, people said to me, “Well, what do you think they did in the olden days?”

My response was, “They were used to the heat and the cold, plus, they did not know the conveniences we have today.”

Yes, I recall when I was young the memories of not having air conditioning or TV. I remember the old out- house and of pumping water from a well. That is how we lived. All of this made me sit up and take notice of how dependent we all are on electricity.

Maybe I am spoiled, because I do enjoy my air conditioning, TV, the internet, and running water. These are things I just take for granted.

The week of the “storm” had lots of things happening. I will let you know some exciting news in next week’s column.

How did you manage during the power outage? Did you get cranky? How did you tolerate the heat? Let me know and I’ll give you a Penny for Your Thoughts.THE POWER OF POWER

One of the most inconvenient things to experience is losing electric power during 102° weather. (Now, I didn’t say, “The worst thing, I said, “one of the worst.”)

The recent storm which went through on Friday, June 29, destroyed hundreds of power poles and left a path of destruction for miles. We were one of many, many residences that did not see the power restored for eight days. What an experience.

The first night of the power outage we trekked to Van Wert and attempted to buy ice and water. Needless to say, everyone was thinking the same thing and alas all the ice was already sold.

We did get lucky and got a case of bottled water and thought that should last us and we thought that our power would only be out for maybe a day. (Of course, we were charged $6.25.)

Saturday came and we began to get rumblings around town that this storm had been very, very vicious and there were thousands without power. We also were told it would be several days before it would be restored.

The temperatures steadily rose and hit close to 104°. In a day’s time, we became hot and a little bit cranky. It was nice and cool just to jump in the car, turn on the air conditioning and ride around.

In our little village, everyone has septic tanks and wells, so we did not have water for toilets, baths, showers or anything. By Saturday afternoon, we were panting and trying just to endure the heat, the dark, and lack of conveniences.

We went to a nearby town and thought we would perhaps buy a small generator. We were in luck as one of the big farm stores was taking prepaid orders for generators and they had a truck load coming in on Sunday evening. (Perhaps this would help us.)

We returned to the store on Sunday night to pick up the generator. Everyone was to drive to the back of the store’s loading dock and wait their turn in line. It took us over one hour to pick up the generator, but it was worth the wait.

It took time to get the generator hooked up at home and we were very careful what we plugged into it. I had already lost all of the food in my refrigerator, but my freezer contents had stayed frozen. Needless to say that is one appliance we connected.

While the generator was a big assistance, the temperature inside the house still hovered near 85°. It would be another long week before we would get our power restored.

When I complained, and trust me I did, people said to me, “Well, what do you think they did in the olden days?”

My response was, “They were used to the heat and the cold, plus, they did not know the conveniences we have today.”

Yes, I recall when I was young the memories of not having air conditioning or TV. I remember the old out- house and of pumping water from a well. That is how we lived. All of this made me sit up and take notice of how dependent we all are on electricity.

Maybe I am spoiled, because I do enjoy my air conditioning, TV, the internet, and running water. These are things I just take for granted.

The week of the “storm” had lots of things happening. I will let you know some exciting news in next week’s column.

How did you manage during the power outage? Did you get cranky? How did you tolerate the heat? Let me know and I’ll give you a Penny for Your Thoughts.

By Kylee Baumle

When all else fails, the weather is always a good topic to fall back on when trying to make conversation and we’re doing this more than ever this summer. For that matter, we’ve been talking about the weather ever since the winter that wasn’t. There probably isn’t a single person out there that didn’t enjoy the mild winter we had this past year. Okay, maybe snowmobile and skiing enthusiasts weren’t exactly happy about it, but personally, I’ll take another winter just like last, thankyouverymuch.

As a gardener, the effects of the warmer winter were highly appreciated. Here in Paulding County, the USDA places us in plant hardiness Zone 5b. Last year, they reassessed the zones, taking advantage of advanced climate evaluation methods, and most of the country found themselves in a zone or two warmer than they were in previously. But not us. A close look at the new map finds us in a little strip that keeps us in Zone 5b, while all around us they jumped to Zone 6a. I would agree with this, at least as far as Paulding County is concerned.

MOVING TO ALASKA?

I have heard a lot of people say, “Oh I just love summer. I wish it was summer all year long.”

Of course, everyone loves the sunshine, swimming, picnics, flowers and butterflies and all the good things that comes with summer.

When I was young, I enjoyed summer, because we didn’t have to go to school. We could go barefoot, go bike riding, catch lightning bugs and play outdoors longer.

At that time, the heat did not seem to bother me. But then, I did not know the comforts of air conditioning. The closest thing we had to cool us off was an ice cold popsicle.

If fiber is a food that gives strength to our physical well-being, then community fiber represents a coming together that brings strength to the meaning of those who live together in that entity.

Once again the miracle of “community osmosis” proved its reality in the small towns of our county during this past week’s storm recovery experiences.

I was raised in a small village where people would collect money for a family that lost their home to a tragic fire before the firemen had the fire extinguished. When someone came home after a hospital stay, cars would line the driveway with people bringing food and supplies to the family that was affected. I have always been proud of the way the small towns in my life have stepped up to take care of their own during difficult times.

This past weekend I stopped to visit with an Amish friend and purchase some delicious baked goods. We were joking about the affects of power outages from Friday’s massive storm. Jokingly she said to me, “We didn’t have to change anything. We were already prepared.”

I laughed and also recalled a different time and era when we were much more prepared for power outages than we are now.

In small Ceylon where I was raised, in the summer, food was as close as walking out the door. The garden, full of vegetables, was on the east side of the property and the orchards of apples, cherries, pear trees, grapes, strawberry patch, raspberries and rest of our fruit was even closer to the house.

ROTTEN EGGS?

One of my favorite foods to eat is eggs. Eggs are not just for breakfast anymore, I love to cook eggs, bacon, toast and potatoes for an evening meal.

We use eggs so much in cooking, baking, and even in crafts. Eggs can be cooked so many different ways. I love them fried, scrambled, poached, boiled, in omelets, and in sandwiches.

My opinion is that although Americans consume over 75 billion eggs a year, the lowly egg has gotten a bad rap as a food item. Some doctors will tell you not to eat eggs, because they are full of cholesterol and can cause a heart attack. Then I read another report that said if you ate eggs you would live longer lives.

With the recent John Paulding Days and fair festivities, I began thinking of amusement parks and the rides I loved as a child. And of course, there is no better amusement park than Cedar Point. Yes, Disney World and Kings Island are pretty awesome, but for a true, mind-blowing, riding experience, nothing beats Cedar Point.

I find roller coasters so exhilarating and I love the rush you get from some of these mega coasters. The crazy thing is that I am deathly afraid of heights, but for some reason, I can convince myself to get on the biggest, highest, and fastest roller coasters.

Isn’t it amazing how much difference a little can make when you haven’t had any?

Late last week, several spots in the county received the first rain drops received in several weeks. When the first drops started to fall, people came out to the sidewalks and from their homes to experience refreshing wetness and smell that has eluded us most of the summer.

I was driving in the country when the first big drops started splashing against my windshield. At first, I soaked in the pleasure so much that I refused to turn on the wipers but eventually that had to change. Still, the sound of the swishing wipers almost seemed like a novelty again.

COLD CROCK? DOODLESS?

Last week in “Pennies” I wrote about how difficult it can be to speak the English language. We take English in school and it was always my favorite subject.

Back in my day, we used to diagram sentences. We would draw lines for the subject, predicate and descriptive words. Then we would take the words from the sentence and put it where it belonged on the lines.

We actually had races between students to see who could diagram a sentence the quickest. I will say I was pretty good at it, mainly because I love words and talking, which of course goes hand-in-hand.

The 3 little pigs and wolf stew

I have always been a speculative person, always wondering, “What if?” Even when I was a child reading books, I would find myself creating a different ending to the story and pondering that ever present question, “What if?” I was always putting happy endings on sad stories. Such as, I did not want to think of the Big Bad Wolf eating any of the Three Little Pigs, so I made up my own story. I had the three pigs eating wolf stew for supper with carrots and potatoes.

For years people have talked, speculated and even prophesied that Jesus was coming back to earth and rapture up his people at a certain time and date.