Hurricane Ike Clobbers Cincinnati

Had you not been in Cincinnati a week ago, you might believe the title to be a bit of an exageration. Hurricanes do not travel this far inland. Au contraire mon cher. Hurricanes, apparently can and do travel this far inland, leaving in their wake a general feeling of being off kilter.


While Louisville, Northern Kentucky, Cincinnati and other unfortunate points did not get the buckets of rain and storm surge that has heaped misery on Galvaston, we did get the wind. As I write the word I find the word "wind" a little too mild, a litte too undescript for what actually happened. Air moving at greater than 50 miles per hour, bending massive trees like reeds, and ripping siding and shingles from their structures seems a little more than "wind".


A by-product of all this untamed energy left most of the Greater Cincinnati Region without electricity. Some people, when confronted with a power outage, find a flashlight and a book, retire to the bedroom and read to their little heart’s content. Other people, when confronted with a power outage, become so annoying that those of us reading with a flashlight think about using them as a human torch, were it not for the smell. Some people, when confronted with a power outage, are most annoyed that they allowed the person running around wringing their hands to convince them that buying one of those L.E.D. headlight thingies so they could knit or read in the dark to be one of those superfluous purchases of insanity that they left it on the shelf at Target. Some people, when confronted with a power outage and lack of one of those L.E.D. headlight thingies that they would have used to keep from going blind trying to knit in the dark, begin to lose their patience with Freakout Man and begin to wonder if at some point they might have to over power him and lock him in the bathroom just to regain some sanity. Some people, when confronted with a power outage, become exuberant at the thought of being able to use all their camping gear, particularly their little cook stove, that the power outage becomes more of an adventure than hardship.

During times such as these, you also discover that the fates have a cruel sense of humor. You may be able to go to your in-laws because they have power restored within a few hours, but no cable or internet. The fair knitter and reader is happy to have light for knitting and reading. Fair knitter and reader’s partner, however, adopts the look and mannerisms of someone detained in a Kafkaesque nightmare. Fair knitter and reader gives thanks that she will be able to have hot meals and, more importantly, hot showers. Fair knitter and reader’s partner determines that phoning the cable company and demanding service be restored to be a sensible thing to do when 500,000 people do not even have electricity to watch their televisions.

That fair knitter and reader’s partner survived without being pummeled with a bar of soap in a sock or drugged into compliance is a testament to fair knitter and reader’s self control.

Thankfully, fair knitter and reader’s power was restored by Tuesday. Thankfully, all those close and dear to fair knitter and reader suffered no bodily harm. That I consider to be a miracle. For that miracle I express continual gratitude and prayers for those who were not so lucky.