How much did you enjoy our recent "shingle apocalypse" brought on by the little wind storm? Probably about as much as I did.
I even went out and took a walk in it. I love the feel of gravel pelting the skin of my face, the grit in my teeth, and debris hitting my body. You just can't enjoy this kind of thing in lesser places like Paris, France.
On my walk, I staggered like I was intoxicated, but I told myself it was a good workout, and good practice if I'm ever on a cruise through a hurricane.
The only downside is that my shingles decided this was a good time to go sightseeing. They may be in Amarillo now; so far they haven't found their way home. I'll leave a light on in the window, but hope is fading.
The part I enjoyed most was the fifteen and a half hour power outage. It gave me a chance to light my kerosene lamps, check the function of my flashlights, and use the backup batteries for all the modern electronic essentials. I'm pleased to say they all passed the test with flying colors. It's fun to be a "prepper", especially when doomsday is postponed.
It's satisfying to weather these events without too much trouble just because you were prepared.
Yet, there was one area where I failed myself. I was almost out of firewood, and my gas furnace doesn't work without electricity. I never allow myself to get this low on firewood, but this year I decided to burn up all the old stuff before I got a new load. The coolness of the night caught me off guard. I was lucky this time-- the power came back on just after I lit a fire to warm the house the next morning. It could have been a problem and I have no one but myself to blame.
All in all, it wasn't much of an inconvenience and I enjoyed myself-- as I always do in such situations. I'm not happy about my shingles, though.
I suppose there's really no way to prepare to have the shingles violently blown off your house, other than having money for repairs. I was unprepared there, too.
I hope you were prepared and didn't suffer too much. Just remember: something else will come along. You won't know what or when, so make sure you're as ready as you can be, now. You'll be glad you prepared.
