No power, no phone, no cable, no internet

And so, we are rediscovering the lost art of conversation.

The lines have been down since about 3:30 on Wednesday afternoon. Thursday night, a crew came and got rid of the tree that took everything out (but not the defunct telephone pole, even though it used to be a tree). Con Ed arrived on Friday, to watch. Yes, a guy in a car sat there making sure no one crossed the yellow hazard tape. Finally, this morning (it's now Saturday), the Con Ed work crews arrived. The new telephone pole has been erected. With luck, we'll have power later. Lord knows when the copper phone lines, the fiber optic phone/data lines, and the cable lines will be back up.

The state of emergency has provided some moments of sweetness and joy. Like the other night when a mess of little neighborhood kids were running around with flashlights like enormous lightning bugs. And Miss M. dubbing her headlamp a "flash hat". And lighting the house with candles.

W. ran out and got a generator on Thursday morning, so the refrigerators are running, and we have one extra outlet. The spare has been used for: a lamp, cell phone chargers, the coffee grinder, the coffee maker, and the toaster. Hot breakfast! Our old (non-modern) hot water heater has a standing pilot light, so we have hot water. Really, the whole thing could be worse.

But it'll be nice to get back to the 21st century sooner than later.