Blackout 2003 Recap

 SALINE, MICHIGAN  AUGUST 18, 2003

What a mess it was on Thursday & Friday as much of the Northeast and Midwest were without power in the Great Black-out of 2003.  Saline, Michigan was down for just about 24 hours after the blackout that started at around 4:15pm.  A few takes:

Concerning Survival Kits.  When the power was lost I quickly assembled a few items including flashlights, batteries, candles, energy bars, food and drinks in the Polar Pac.  I decided to not go with diet Cokes, only regular.  Although I prefer Diet, if the blackout lingered I figured we'd need those carbs to keep us going.  The only problem was that about 1 hour into the blackout I was 4 deep into the cokes and Balance Bars and on a wicked caffeine high all night.

Concerning Sump Pumps.  No power at my house presents a problem due to my sump pump.  Basically a sump pump takes the water the collects around the foundation of your house and pumps in out, away from your property.   Some houses need a sump, some don't.  The amount of water you need to pump depends on a variety of factors, but for whatever reason I have a lot of it.  If the sump pump fail, the water eventually overflows and it floods the basement.  Water constantly needs to be pumped out.  It's worse in the Spring, but without power I was forced to bail the water by hand, including setting my alarm for 3am to get up to do it.  They make battery-powered back-ups and maybe I need to get one now?

Concerning The Gas Lines:  A question to half of Ann Arbor,  Was it really necessary to fill up your tanks with gas the second the gas stations restored power? I drive about 1000 miles per week and even then I don't need to fill up every day.  Dude, the lines to the gas stations were 10-15 deep at certain times during the day.  I checked off on one line that spilled a bunch of cars onto Stadium Blvd. in Ann Arbor.  Get a grip - the power was out in A2 for about 16 hours.  My advice?  Kick back, relax, and throw some meat on the grill.