Tuesday night, SWHTL and I are in the martial arts emporium, which is only about 50 yards from and, indeed, faces, our house.

Over about 10 minutes, the sky went black, then lightning hit the pole and the lights went out. We kept having class, because, what else are you gonna do?

10 more minutes, and our son comes over to find out why we haven't rushed home. Turns out we should be rushing home because son and daughter have decided that what they needed to do was light about a bajillion candles. So I step out just as someone dropped an ocean on us.

It was amazing. I mean, you hear metaphors and all about hard rain but, really, they don't really convey the effect. White water rafting on my face? Maybe. I get to the house, dry off, and the rain stops, that fast. Step outside and every tree in the neighborhood has been stomped flat. Not knocked over, not lost some branches - they look as if a giant was playing hopscotch and the trees were the board.

Power was out from then till now.

Feel free to imagine all sorts of defrosting meat, emergency ice, trips to the MIL's to transfer food, hot sweaty nights, etc., etc.

I'm glad I'm not my cow-orker, though. He has no power and his water comes from a  well.