By: Ruth McCleerey
Some weeks finding something to write about is more difficult than others. Had a number of notes but nothing concrete.
Then... came to work early today (Tuesday) to put my fingers to work on the computer. Actually I arrived a little after 6am, made coffee, brought in the daily paper, checked emails and went to work.
ZAP - power blinked a couple times and then total darkness. It’s daylight, but in the Independent building, that has no windows, it might as well be midnight; you can’t see your hand in front of your face.
Used to live in that building, an apartment in the back and when my family came to visit, they were almost drugged with sleep because of the dark. Our bodies react to light (daylight) and kick in.... not so when you wake in total dark.
Lit a couple candles by the light of a flashlight and started drinking the coffee. Had pushed the toaster down luckily, so ate a peanut butter and sliced peach toast and drank hot coffee. Actually drank three cups while it was still hot! Should be wired for the day?!
After an hour, I went looking for the reason for the outage. There was a line down by the city auditor’s office, but figured one downed line wouldn’t cause the whole town’s power to fail. WRONG! Spoke with Otter Tail workers and they said lightning had struck and YES the whole town was affected. A neighbor man was watching the whole process (restringing the power line on the pole) and told me at about 6am, there was a loud noise and an arc of fire shot out of the pole area. Yikes!
This column is being done while sitting in my car behind the Independent building.
The power came back on about 9:15, three hours later. One does not truly appreciate the little things, like electricity, until you do not have it. You wander room to room, absent-mindedly turning on switches. Of course, when the power does come back on, every light in the house is on!
The radio just reported that the miserable weather has moved to the east and into Minnesota. Wonder what you call the downpour happening while I cower in my car.
Don’t know how much rain we received, but there are huge puddles everywhere.
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There has been some freaky weather going on this summer.... a pattern has been developed that brings hot muggy temps followed by rain, hail, winds, pestilence (just kidding) to the area. It tends to be patchy however. You either get it all or you don’t. Farmers can attest to this. Some were hoping for some rain and others are looking over fields that received not only rain, but hail and wind and the question is, will the field recover? One farmer said that you can’t count on a crop that looks great, until you have it safely in the bins.
The water table is and has been high for years in this area, and when more moisture comes, it has nowhere to go. Small sloughs have become lakes, connecting one with another. Places like McLeod in Ransom County, have been battling water literally for their existence. And now they have reports of e-coli in their wells. Counties and townships have been working to get permission to drain this area more aggressively, but with so many governmental entities in the area, this is a very arduous and long endeavor.
Spring water over the roads syndrome is now water over the roads continued.... many rural residences have to be very creative to get to and from their properties.
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Went to another action film this weekend. Saw Salt starring Angelina Jolie. Not believable feats in the movie, but a fun fantasy flick. I was entertained and that is what a movie is designed to be - entertainment. There are those who attend a movie to learn and they are disappointed if the producer does not follow true history or reality. Not me - I go to movies to escape reality, not gain knowledge.