Brrrrr!
I always knew that I wasn’t cut out to be a camper of any kind. Years ago my wife and I set out one summer to see the country, and so we invested in a tent, sleeping bags, flashlights, lanterns, and anything else we thought we might need. And then filled with the spirit of adventure and excited at the prospect of taking on all Mother Nature could throw at us, we rolled out of Wheeling and headed south.
We were traveling in a brand-new Ford Falcon sans air-conditioning, but we were tough, and the 85-degree temperature wasn’t going to deter us from our mission of exploring the United States and our first destination of Miami Beach. We forged ahead through the heat and humidity, and after traveling for eight hours, we decided to stop for the night, and we were so hot and tired that we opted for a nice motel with air-conditioning and a swimming pool instead of setting up the tent. Nothing like roughing it with an ice-cold gin and tonic in an air-conditioned room with cable TV and room service.
The next morning, showered and refreshed, we boarded our trusty Falcon and headed for Miami Beach. Now so far all of this is a preface for what is to come, and so here is the fast-forward version. We made it to Miami, where we stayed at the Castaway, a luxurious motel spread out over both sides of the road, and it boasted FIVE swimming pools, three freshwater and two saltwater! After spending four or five days of frolicking in all those pools, we headed for New Orleans and stayed in the Royal Orleans, a famous, five-star hotel with the Rib Room, a nationally renowned restaurant specializing in prime rib of beef.
That’s enough to give you an idea about how we triumphed over everything the wilderness threw at us and just kept traveling, and here’s a major tip for would-be campers: In order to keep your camping gear fresh, don’t unpack it until you arrive back home. All our paraphernalia showed absolutely no wear from riding around in the trunk of our car, and it’s already to go for our next camping trip!
But our big adventure did little to prepare us for the three and one-half days my wife and I endured without electrical power in the wake of the recent ice storm that crippled the Ohio Valley. Now I can handle being without water for a time, but my tolerance for no heat, electricity, and internet is absolutely zero. I remember being pretty cold several times watching the Steelers play at Three Rivers Stadium. But at least that was outside, which is quite different from watching the temperature plummet in my house.
Fortunately, two of our adult children had power and brought us some warm food, and we ate it very fast before it could freeze. All right, it wasn’t that cold, but it sure as hell felt like it. I felt like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde because the power outage transformed me from a mild-mannered retired college professor into a raging, irrational and obnoxious pest with an iPhone glued to my right ear as I bombarded AEP with telephone calls asking when the electricity would be restored in our area.
The monster within me was further annoyed to learn that during the storm a falling tree had ripped some wires from our house, and AEP was forbidden to turn on our electricity until an electrician repaired the downed lines. To complicate matters it was a Sunday; how in the hell was I going to find an electrician on a Sunday?
Half-heartedly I dialed the number of a local electric company, and the operator said an electrician was making emergency calls. Very shortly the saintly electrician was in my yard working on the lines. When he finished, I called AEP, but no one was available to restore power to my neighborhood until the following day. Another night without power!
Well, we made it through night even though my wife had to talk me out of pitching our brand-new tent in the living room. (Yes after 50 some years we never had used that tent.) I thought it might be a little warmer in there, but my wife pointed out that we had never put the tent up, and by the time we finished with the tent, the electricity probably would be back. As usual she was right, and we survived another night of having to rough it in our house. The power came on, and I never thought heat could feel so good.
And thanks to my wife’s good sense, we still have a beautiful new tent!
LOST DOG
Please help. At this writing my daughter-in-law still is searching for her young Great Dane. The dog, which responds to the name Miyku (Me-coo), has been spotted in the Oglebay area and along GC&P Road. If you have any information about the dog, please contact Carrie Hanna at 304-312-2958.
Ponder This:
Losing a pet is a horrifying experience. Please help find Miyku!
~ The Hanna Clan
