Powerless

Scenes from the power outage:
1. A friend who shares his home with five dogs reports that his fridge is defrosting, leaving a puddle of water on the kitchen floor. A cheerful soul, he is looking on the bright side: "Hey, at least there's a puddle that has nothing to do with the dogs for once."
2. A relative spending the winter in warmer climates called Wednesday evening to report that a few sprinkles of rain fell on her outdoor water aerobics class, but the ladies carried on nonetheless.
3. I feel awful for the small business owners who were forced to shut due to the power outage. Not only were many restaurants, hair salons and such hit hard, but a friend who fixes appliances was also affected less directly. Most of his customers called to cancel their appointments: no point in him going out to diagnose a dishwasher or fridge if there's no power at the client's home.
4. Neighborly folks who are back on the grid have taken to social media to help those still out of power, offering showers, Internet access, phone charging, heat and light. "We have electric and lots of fridge and freezer space. We also have 2 open beds, a pull out couch, showers, washer/dryer, food, etc, etc, etc... Consider yourselves INVITED!" said one especially hospitable friend. Patrons seeking juice at the Bayard Taylor Library were filling up every available power strip the library could lay its hands on. I was impressed that the Y's opened their doors to all comers, members or not, who needed a warm place and a shower.
5. Coffee took first priority for many people, and the fact that so many Starbucks and Wawas were closed hit them hard. I heard stories of camping stoves and percolators being pulled out of basement storage and pressed into service. One friend who grinds his own said he was prepared to smash the beans with a hammer if needed.