Thursday, August 06, 2009

The Apocalypse on My Street

So...last night we had a freak hail storm and lightning strike on my street, one house down.

My wife and I were putting our son to sleep, when lightning blasted a tree next door and shattered it into a million pieces. The sound of the explosion was deafening, and a series of blue sparks lit up the whole house before we were plunged into total darkness. I ran outside and saw that the downed tree also brought down electric lines all across the streets. One electric pole (pictured) was swaying in the breeze, sparking.

And wouldn't you know it, we didn't get power back till a few hours ago. And when we did, my desktop computer, three television sets, two DVD players, one laserdisc player, our microwave oven and Joel's air machine were all toast. Completely wasted. Dead in the water. Ergh!

I'll be back to blogging as soon as possible, but I think I'm going to be spending some one-on-one time with my homeowners' insurance company tomorrow morning!

9 comments:

  1. Yikes! Sorry about the electrical appliances, but glad to know that you're all safe...

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  2. Anonymous9:47 AM

    Hey john,
    I stopped by yesterday to see if you guys were Ok, but I guess you were out. I may have an old DVD player around here somewhere if you start going through withdrawals before the insurance check comes.
    -rc

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  3. Wow! Glad to hear you and your family are okay - that's the important thing. Take care.

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  4. We've been having some very intense thunderstorms out this way lately, too, but so far no big hail.

    Can I say that it tickles me to know you will be filing for restitution from an Act of God? :-P

    I love you, glad you're all okay!

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  5. Thanks for all the concern, everybody! When I saw we had an electric cable dangling in our front lawn, I got the family out.

    We didn't return till last night (electric wire STILL dangling in our front lawn...), and today I'm trying to put the house back together.

    Thanks for the offer of the DVD player Rick. I've jury rigged my old laptop to play on my old desktop computer monitor in the interim...

    best,
    John Kenneth Muir

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  6. Anonymous5:22 PM

    The real tragedy is the laserdisc player! I can't bear to part with mine for sentimental reasons, and I hate to hear yours went down this way. Of course glad you, Kathryn, and Joel are safe and sound : )

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  7. Hey Jim!

    I'm big-time bummed about the laserdisc player. I had it for fifteen years in January of this year, and the gorgeous machine never needed a repair, a tune-up or anything. It played perfectly from birth to (untimely) death.

    Man, I'll miss her...

    best,
    John Kenneth Muir

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  8. Apparently the inclement weather wanted it faster, more intense. Good luck on the recovery!

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  9. Anonymous3:07 PM

    The Monsters Are Due...

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