Friday, August 14, 2020

Seventeen Years Ago, Eh? (The Phantom Menace)

Minutes ago I was reminded that it was seventeen years ago today that the big power outrage happened in Ontario, Canada, and many of the U.S. eastern states.

That was a day to remember. I was lucky in that my power snapped back on in my Toronto neighbourhood at about 9:30 that evening. A friend who lives just east of me waited for a few days. He told me that he and his wife lost about two-hundred dollars worth of meat -- they had shopped just the day before.

When power was restored I was sitting at home, chilling, relaxing: a mass of LED lights popped on around me, reminding me how much "phantom" power there was about. That was sobering. We are electricity pigs.

Memories, here.



4 comments:

DonaldAR said...

It was the tail end of our family summer 'time off.' We had no money for travelling / vacationing, so the highlight was a trip to what was then known as Wild Water Kingdom, on the eastern edge of Brampton. I was driving a minivan full of kids (mine, and some of their friends). The lack of any functional traffic lights - in Brampton, no less - made for a challenging, not to mention; long, slow drive.
Of course, we were turned away when we finally arrived. Apparently, a water park without power is just a collection of pools. So, we had to trek all the way back through the Bramptonian traffic nightmare. Pretty sure we had no A/C in the van, and I seem to recall; it was stinkin' hot! Man, that fragrant adolescent tang of teenage sweat and pheromones! Woowhee! Fun timez!

Simon St. Laurent said...

There was a heatwave, indeed. That was the kicker.

Thanks for the memories!

Unknown said...

I was in the middle of working on a commercial and poof! Not no more! The bar across the street was busy and free Popsicles from the variety store next door.

Simon St. Laurent said...

Cool. Thanks!

By any chance, was it a commercial for Hydro One?