Blow Off About the Big Blow

With much ballyhoo, hype and fanfare, Hurricane Irene blew up the coast a weekend ago. There were places hard hit and others not so much. As bad as it may have been for some, it was hardly the cataclysm storm of the century predicted and harped upon by the many TV reporters sent out into the wind and rain to stir up our emotions. being forewarned and prepared is one thing, scaring people to death is another. There is no need for every major TV channel to go 24/7 with these things. Regular updates, fine; features in the scheduled newscasts, fine; all day on the Weather Channel, appropriate, but otherwise shut up about it.

We were very fortunate here on this street where I live. Damage was certainly minimal, mostly branches down and twigs scattered all about. A few streets over from me that big tree pictures uprooted and fell against the house.

A good many folk in the county lose power for varying lengths of time. My own went out about 10:00 PM on Saturday night as Irene regaled us with her opening salvos. Sunday morning I was up early as usual and then by the dawn's early light sat reading a book by the front window. I heard a large vehicle coming down the street and turned just in time to see a white rear of it pass by and down the street. I couldn't see what it was, but guessed it might be a Delmarva Power Truck. I has buried with my book, a couple of cats and a pillow so was not quick to extricate myself and get to the front door to try and get a better look. Agin I only caught a white tail as it turned left on the lower street.

I decided to follow and see if I could find out where it went.  I walked down the street, turned and at the next drive behind us saw a DP&L truck parked halfway up that avenue. I walked up as an orange suited gentleman in a hardhat walked behind a house with a large limb in the drive. The occupants were standing outside. The power guy told us a transformer had blown on the next street over and we would probably have our power back in two hours.

He was right. At ten AM our lights snapped on, which is when we discovered we had no cable, so no TV, no internet and no phones. The cable came back on sometime around 9:00 on Monday, then went out again around 4:00PM. It returned again sometime around 7:00 PM and so far as remained. As I said, we were fortunate. Some people in our same community, just on the other side of where I-95 cuts us in half, didn't have power until at least this just past Thursday.  I went out Thursday morning for my regular walk and their were nine Delmarva trucks and crews along that street and one tree services the power company uses.

After a few tried, I was finally able to get back into the state parks for my hikes.  Brandywine Creek State Park was a mess.

I shot some video just before Irene arrived and then the morning after. I shot some walking about my community and then more in some of our parks, Bellevue, Bringhurst Woods and Rockwood, but mostly in Brandywine Creek State Park.  These videos follow (four altogether). I suggest you turn off my music player by scrolling down to it and then turn your speakers up some.

You Can Bank on Waiting

Once upon a time there was a strong and fiercely independent Family who dwelt in the land of the great Baron duPont in the village of Bankingshire. There were several proud families very like them striving there, but one by one they disappeared into the clutches of great and powerful Lords of Grab and Grasp from outside the realm. All these once noble names of Bankingshire disappeared, their legacies but memories. Except for this one family and somehow they resisted and fought and retained their name and history.

But like many a family empires preceding and surely many to come, discontentment with what they had seeped in and they began to overreach, growing careless and casual in their dealings. As a result, weakness was found within their house and soon they too fell to outsiders from a distant land.

And because of this I found myself having another change forced upon me late in life. My bank, The Bank, where I had served for many years, until they unceremoniously cast me overboard a decade ago, had fallen under a shadow that wouldn't pass. Instead it only grew darker, until they had no choice but to abandon ship. I now faced a transition of not only my financial services, but my pension as well. Do not think I did not worry.

Especially when between an earthquake and a hurricane, I lost my job. But what could I do about it except wait things out. (I'm sorry. I just looked at my photograph and two images came to mind and I don't want to mention either. Use your imagination.)

As fickle fate would have it, the Great Conversion fell on the dates Ms Irene choose to make an impression upon our little state. Just on the eve of when the new rulers of my money were about to rip off the bags over their new signs, Irene ripped down our electric wires and our cable services. Now just as I must call and activate my new access cards, because on that Friday my old had become deactivated, I had no phones. Now when I had to switch my on-line banking service, I had no internet and with no internet and no new on-line banking service, I could not see if my accounts safely made the transition and more importantly, would my pension deposit be deposited.

I've been through many conversions in my life. I have seen few (make that none) without a glitch, hiccup, speed bump or worse. It did not help that over the many months of anticipation as this conversion slowly, but inexorably moved toward completion, my peace of mind when The President said he could not guarantee Social Security Checks would be sent and my job seemed shaky. Amidst these my mind wondered would my pension get lost in translation?

Of course, the politicians made moot the Social Security question in their usual cowardly way. They simply kicked that can of worms down the street for some future gutless politicians to contend with. My shaky job soon collapsed over an abyss and fell from sight on the eve of both the great bank conversion and the hurricane. This left only the banking questions to be resolved.

After the winds blew by and the creeks rose and the power returned and the cable connected I opened a new on-line account at my new bank. Not too difficult to create, but not much to look at once I opened it. I have three accounts and all were supposed to make the trip. I see one, I see two, I see...I see...

I see one and I see two is what I see. Where is three? I look around the screen. I scroll up and down. I click on a few links, maybe it is hidden behind one of these. I do not find account number three. This is not a good thing. This is not a comfort. If they lost a whole account, one in which I OWE them money, what will they do with my pension where THEY owe me money?

I will have to wait a few more days to know the latter answer, but for now my concern is my missing number three. I see a link that says "Add an Account". Perhaps I have to add this one. After all, this one was a credit card and they not only converted banks, they switched credit card companies on me. Maybe that is why this one requires more from me here.

I click the "Add an Account" and begin filling out a form asking for account name and number and vital statistics, but I pause. At the end it has a fill-in blank labeled, "Pay this Amount". Hmmm! This isn't adding an account, this is adding a payee for Bill Pay. I don't want to pay any amount right now. In fact, if my pension deposit doesn't show up a few days hence, I won't be able to pay any amount to account number three, even if I do find it. If I don't see my pension deposit in a few days hence, maybe it'd be better if account number three stay lost. I cancel the form and return to my somewhat skimpy home page.

Then I notice near the bottom, "To add an account call 1-800-And-Wait." (That's not the real number. Don't call that number. There is no number 1-800-And-Wait. It is not a number, it is what you are going to do when you reach the real number.)

It lists the times of day you may call. I have to wait for the proper hour and when the clock strikes the time, I dial. A mechanical female voice answers with a greeting, a welcome, followed by, "All our circuits are tied up at the moment. Please call back later." Hoo ha!

High tide in the anxiety pool.

There's that word again, wait. I must wait until later and later I call again, around four in the afternoon.

Our cheery little mechanical greeter is there with another welcome and instructions: If you want this thing, press 1; if that thing, press 2; if another thing, press three and so on and so forth until, "If you haven't pressed anything because you are so overwhelmed by our 87 choices, then press 88 and we will start all over again. Just for your convenience. This time pay attention and press something."

I didn't know what to press, nothing quite fit my situation. There was no press zero for a real, live, possibly-even-breathing individual. So I did the next best thing, I picked a number at random and pressed. Our cheery greeter was back, but with a difference message. "We are experiencing a higher than usual call volume. Please stay on the line and our first available representative will be with you shortly." Meanwhile I get to enjoy the most sleep-inducing music I have ever heard on hold. I mean, I didn't want to be subjected to be-bop or hip-hop or rap or reggae or some kind of death metal play, but I wasn't ready for lullaby-time either.

Fortunately my dozing was interrupted at frequent intervals, about every other minute, by our digital hostess announcing the lines were still tied in knots, but "our first available representative will be with you shortly." Of course, "shortly" is a relative thing and it obviously was no relative of the bank's. After numerous "short-lies", a man answered.

He introduced himself. "Hi, my name is Peggy." And I introduced myself, "Hi, my name is confused." We were going to get along great. I begin to explain my missing number three account when I hear a click and nothing.

"Hello, is anyone out there?" followed by "did this guy HANG UP ON ME!" followed by my wife walking in the room announcing, "The cable is out."

Oh yes indeed, the cable was once again kerput. Along with my lost number three account was lost TV, lost internet and lost phones. I didn't lose everything. I still retained my sense of futility and frustration.

Our cable service didn't return until later that evening, too late now to call back. In the morning I decided to go to the nearest branch, track down my AWOL account face to face, Mano y Mano or Womano y Womano. Why does optimism ever ring in my heart? I drive to the bank, park my car and amble across the lot then do a U-turn back to car, to road, to home, to phone. Why did I not know the bank branch would be full. It just converted and I was probably not the only owner of a stray account or transaction about town.

I call the 800 number and our computer-generated Matron'd answers. Apparently they are firing on all circuits this morning, so she goes right into the laundry list of press-worthy buttons. They have still not added my particular problem to the menu and I still do not know an appropriate one to select. I choose to select a different one than I did the day before.

"We are experiencing a higher than usual call volume. Please stay on the line and our first available representative will be with you shortly."

I am back with the sleepy-time music and the constant notifications to stay tuned for the next available representative. And eventually the next available representative answers.

"Hi, my name is Peggy."

Wait a minute, this is the same available representative I got yesterday after pushing a different button. No wonder all their circuits are tied up, what do they have -- ONE! I mean, I was kidding about his name being Peggy, but now I'm not so sure, maybe this is Peggy. Or maybe I have entered the Twilight Zone or worse, this is Groundhog Day repeating itself over and over.

I don't want to disparage the man or imply he was anything like "Peggy". He was very nice and turned out to be quiet helpful, but in the beginning as confused about my missing account number three as I was. He also was having some computer glitches of his own. He asked me for some info on my on-line banking screen and I fumbled about seeking it, explaining that I was using a new computer and going through a learning curve.

"I'm going through a learning curve myself," he said. "I'm actually a former Wilmington Trust employee learning this new system."

He then asked if I minded going on hold while he asked his supervisor some questions. Ah, sweet dreamland.

After a couple snores my nap was cut short by the guy. "I'd like to ask you to do something," he says.

"Okay."

"Sign out of your on-line banking."

I did so.

"Now log back in again."

"Okay."

 "You should see your credit card account now."

Yes, I see it, I see it, it has come home. I thanked him for solving my problem and now all I needed to wait on was whether my pension check would show up in a couple of days.

A couple of days later I went back to my on-line banking account full of fear and trepidation. The accounts popped up, all three, and yes, my pension deposit was there. I was so happy, so relieved, that I even made a payment to the credit card.

End of a Perfect...Ha!

Just a quick follow up on this gloomy day. It was a day off, a time I get to take a good walk, which you know if you read my last post, did not happen.

As if to taunt, the wild winds, which lashed the trees and almost blew a sneaky squirrel out of the bird feeder it had invaded, by mid-morning blew out our power.

We remained in the dark-ages until late afternoon. Oh, how dependent we moderns have come on electricity. Everything in my life today resides in a computer and our entertainment in a wide box.

Habit also rules. Each time I entered another room of this rainy day dreary house I would flip the wall switch; how futile, how foolish.

Then in late afternoon a mysterious voice came out of the air. It wasn't God, it was something through the system modem. But at once I knew it was back. I now tried a wall switch and voila, light.

This was followed by the modern ritual known as resetting all the digital clocks in the house.

But all was not right. The TV came on with sound, but no picture. That's not good. I could display the channel guide. I checked the cables. No change. I could put a DVD in the player and it would play perfectly, sound, picture, the works, but trying to watch TV, no picture.

I called my provider and got a message there was a problem with service in my area, they were working on it. Still now late into this evening the same message, the same condition. Hopefully all will be right with the world in the morning.

Still and all, I feel certain the problem lies with the cable provider, not with my TV. I am in no position financially to have to replace that TV.

And then as I am all snuggled down for a long night's sleep, just drifted off to that far from troubles land, I am jarred awake by the Little Woman. It is pouring outside, I can hear the drain pipes rattle. It is not quite midnight. Will this day never end? My son's driver side window has dropped into the door and he can't get it up. Water is streaming into his front seat. Do I have anything to plug the dam.

I struggle back into my clothes and get a large plastic drop cloth from the basement. This we drape over his car door and shut it. This will keep the rain out, but he will have to get his window fixed and tomorrow I will have to run him to his job and back.

I return to bed with these incomplete problems dancing like rotting sugarplums in my head. I am soaked. I towel off and lay down and sing the Tomorrow song from Annie.

Yes, the perfect end to a something or other.

On the Flip Side

I suppose I need a follow up to my problems during the great storm of last Thursday. Granted mine pale in comparison to how some suffered, certainly my tiny inconveniences are insignificant next to those people whose only access to the greater world was a bridge and that bridge washed away. Now several dozen families can only escape from their environs by climbing a steep and slippery hill. The state has said it may take months to replace the bridge.

Sometimes it pays to live on a hill with more than one entry-exit, even if you occasionally slide sideways in winter snows.

I worked on Friday and had no issues. Some were late because their streets were flooded. Several of the rivers and creeks crested on Friday. We got nine inches of rain where I live.

I got my morning walk in again on Saturday morning. I don't want to miss many of my hikes. I have dropped two belt sizes since I started these jaunts a few weeks ago. I was rather intrigued coming across a battered black bumbershoot laying along the path deep in Bringhurst Woods. I can't believe someone would have believed an umbrella would protect them from rain with the high winds that blew through these lands all day. There's not a brolly in existence that would have survived. Certainly this one didn't.

The coattails of Hurricane Nicole were too much for many trees, a fragile bit of wire and cloth had little chance, There were freshly fallen branches and logs all through the forest and the paths were strewn with all sorts of leaves and debris.

One poor tree had been blasted apart, half of it a prone corpse across the path. The top was blown to who knows where.

The innards of the standing stump was hollowed out and in was fried.

The hollowed part and the peeled off bark upon the ground were covered in black soot. This was most likely the victim of a lightning strike.

I made a few miscalculations on my Saturday outing. My first was the decision to go to Bellevue direct.

A number of state parks charge a fee in season. Saturday began chill, the second of October, early morning. The park is listed as open from 8:00 AM and I stopped at a store and got gas on my way, arriving at 20 after.

Here I discovered the season runs until November 1 and thus I paid $3.00 for the privilege to walk the woodlands inside. Too late to escape, I paid my fee and drove down the twisting road leading far back to the first parking lot.

As I reached this lot I was stunned to see it nearly filled. In the many times I have been to this park with the Little Woman and the children when they were children I have never experienced this lot this full. I had to park in the very last section down near the entry road and as I trudged up the hill noted others also trudging.

What is going on? And if the park only opened 20 minutes ago, how did all these cars get here so quickly?

Frankly, I like my walks to be fairly unencumbered by others. I like the quiet and solitude of these forest paths in the early day. All these cars promised something less desolate.

I do not know what the rallying force behind it was, but this park was full of vigor, vocal youth this day.  Out in the great green they had swarmed like buzzing bees on a mission.

Down another path, edged at cross paths with little orange pylons dashed teenage girls in some mini-marathon, people cheering them on by name and waving arms.

I soon discovered the further parking lot, one even larger than where I parked was also full of cars by now and out along the entry road I stood to one side watching people in safety jackets directing vehicles up into a field, which was also becoming covered by cars where before only clover bloomed.

It was rather obvious I should flee off of the main track and down the side trails to the more peaceful desolation of Bringhurst Woods.

And so I did and once again found some semblance of tranquility.

But having to forego my morning walk on Thursday was the least of the problems I left you with, wasn't it. I had finally crawled off to bed with my son's car missing its side window and the TV missing its picture. What happened there?

What a difference a day makes, right?

I drove my son to his work place just before leaving for my own job. His car sat sadly in our drive with the front driver's door encased with a hugh plastic drop cloth. It had done the job of plugging the dam, but he could hardly drive with it flapping about.  It occurred to me there might be a simple solution in the meantime, until he feels he is willing to take it to a shop and have this window situation more permanently resolved. What happens is his driver side window will slip down in the door and not come up. The wind drove it down Thursday night. He can pull it up with a coat hanger, but it just isn't staying.

I went to Home Depot when I went that evening to pick him up and bought a box of shims. I told him to tap a shim between his window and frame and see if that wouldn't keep it up. He did, it worked. Now it will be a nuisance if he has to go anywhere with a tollbooth, but for now it solves his runaway window problem at a cost of $1.35 for twelve shims.

The TV was frustrating and scary.

When the electric returned after being off all Thursday day, everything worked, except our main TV had no picture. The scary part was the possibility the electrical outage had damaged the set. I am in no position right now to replace that TV.

But it made no sense to think it was the TV. When I turned on the cable I not only got sound, I could bring up the program guide. I also put a DVD in our player and the movie played perfectly on the TV.

I deduced it was a provider problem.

I called my provider and got a recorded message there was a service problem in my area, technicians were working on the problem and sorry. This was a relief. It was a provider problem. Now it became how long a problem.

I called again late Thursday evening and got the same message. Perhaps by morning it will be resolved, I thought, but when I turned on the TV the next AM there was still no picture. I called the provider and got the same message.

I went to work and when I came home, still no picture, still the same message, but this time I chose to talk to someone. I didn't have to wait long until a rep answered, a nice friendly guy living in Newark who had worse problems than me. His place had flooded, he was up bailing out till midnight and had a carpet like a wet sponge now. He ran whatever tests they run and found I was getting a signal. There was a big service problem two streets over, which is probably why I kept getting that message.

He asked me to try unplugging the cabal box for five-seconds. I know, they always ask that. Well, I did and dabnabit if when I re-plugged that picture came back like it had never been gone. TV problem resolved, car window problem resolved and I am back on my walks and the sun has been shining.

Of course now we are supposed to have four days of rain.