Thanksgiving Secrets

J. E. Carter
Copyright © 2020
All Rights Reserved
Index

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
 Chapter 1
Wednesday, 26 Nov, 2025, 13:30

Ring! Ring!

Caller ID says that's Tom's number.

'This is Jack. Happy Thanksgiving Eve, son.'

'Happy Thanksgiving Eve, Dad. We've all been checked and are clear of Covid-19.
How do we get everyone to your house?'
'Remember your question about the "boat door" that's on the back of the basement?'
'Your answer was "It's sometimes useful"… Oh, I get it. We load the van at the motel
and then we take the road through the covered bridge and the van is almost 'empty' when
it gets to your place. I'm to tell Rob to take the same roads tomorrow? What am I
delivering today?'
'He can do exactly as you'll be doing and there'll be space in the garage so they don't
get wet in tomorrow's rain. I'll meet you out back today and tell you where to put "the
bags of concrete mix" and then you can back in.'
'You'll be back there to guide me? That's not the widest garage door.'
'I'll be there and we can discuss when you and Rob will be over tomorrow to help with
the digging.'
'And you won't mention the 100% chance of severe thunderstorms all day?'
'Of course not! I'm just a forgetful old man who plans things without checking the
weather.'
'We'll have how many people there?'
'With all the kids and in-laws, I think it's twenty four. Rob and Janice will be the
"entertainment" at the kids' table, as usual.'
'The kids see it as "entertainment" but the adult presence also keeps things within
limits.'
'We'll keep doing that as long as it works. A couple of teenagers have asked to move
back to the kids' table for this year so it's still a popular place.'
'Mom has the usual spread?'
'Even better than usual. I expect both tables to be groaning. We provided a turkey.
My financial adviser provided the usual ham. The Thompsons provided a duck and the
Weatherbys a goose, both of them with the excuse they have too many animals to care for
at their ages. All of you can take home a different set of leftovers than what you eat
tomorrow and we'll still be taking Thanksgiving supper to four houses out here.'
'The Thompsons, the Gentiles, the Weatherbys and Reverend Barton?'
'Correct. We invited all of them and offered to drive them here and back but they've
been very careful about the on-going lockdown.'
'Makes sense when they're all 80+. Sweet potato casserole?'
'With double brown sugar and pecan topping. Plus baked sweet potatoes for those
who prefer them. Green bean casserole with crispy fried onion topping. Broccoli with or
without cheese sauce. Yellow squash casserole. Tossed and Jello salads. Two flavors of
homemade ice cream.'
'I shouldn't have asked. We ate less than an hour ago and now I'm hungry again!'
'Load up and come on over. The kids can lick the bowls where your Mom's making a
red velvet cake, two pumpkin pies and two pecan pies.'
'The two of you didn't retire from the restaurant business; you just started working
from home.'
'But now it's done on our schedule and for our choice of people.'
'You invited the Governor?'
'No, as he might turn us in for violating his "no more than ten people" and "outside
tables only" edicts.'
'You got everything moved to that 40 foot conex box?'
'With a little help from a younger neighbor. We now have a very large room in the
basement for the kids to play or watch movies in and some pillows and blankets for them
to crash on.'
'While the stuffed adults crash upstairs?'
'Correct. The usual cameras plus a couple of pan-tilt-zoom cameras are in place in
case the adults watching the kids also crash.'
'We'll leave in the same manner?'
'Yes. Two vans with two people each arrive. Two vans with two people each leave a
few hours later. The kids who asked for a sleepover get a multi-night 'sleepover', their
parents get a long weekend and the vans can visit again Sunday evening to pick them up.'
'We'll be there in about twenty minutes. Just long enough to load the van and drive
over.'
'See you soon.'

---
 Chapter 2
Wednesday, 26 Nov, 2025, 14:20

"A little to your left, Rob."

"Like this?"
"You're centered in the doorway. You have all the concrete mix?"
"Six. bags, Dad. Good that you can store it inside as I don't like the looks of the radar
weather."
"At least we don't have to work outside for a day or two."
"That's true. I'm good here?"
"Back up until your shoulder is even with this knot in the paneling."
"I'm there."
"Then I'll close the door."
"Still not an electric opener?"
"Not as long as I can raise and lower it with one hand."

"Now Libby Concrete, Josh Concrete, Sarah Concrete and Amelia Concrete can come
out of their bags,"
"Gramps, you're silly!"
"No, Amelia. He's fun! Hi, Gramps!"
"Hi back, Libby. Hi, Amelia. Hi, Josh. Hi, Sarah. Hi, Becky and Tom."
"Is Gram really baking right now?"
"She's in the 'mixing ingredients' part of baking, Josh. She has aprons for all of you.
Libby, will you hold Sarah's hand on the stairs?"
"Yes, Gramps."

"Dad, I don't recognize that big metal shelving unit."

"You did notice the solar panels out back?"
"Maybe a thousand watts or so?"
"1110 watts per their labels. Two at 250, one at 300, one at 310."
"So about 800 watts in the real world?"
"A little better than that. The Jinko panels deliver about 94% of their rated power in
backyard sun at this location."
"So just over 1000 watts?"
"Yes."
"And you plan to run how much from that?"
"Fridge, freezer, some LED lighting, the central heat for a few hours. The battery
bank can provide about 16 hours of that level of power without sun. Then we get out the
inverter generator."
"You have fuel for how long?"
"Treated gas for a little over two weeks and then we start siphoning from the
vehicles."
"Your 'refuel at half tank' means you have enough gas there for another two or three
weeks?"
 "Yes. If power's ever off long enough for the grocery stores to empty, after a few
weeks of using the freezer's contents the remnants could be moved to the fridge's freezer
and that would extend the fuel even longer."
"No wind generators?"
"Not enough continuous wind here to justify the cost of even a 400 watt wind
generator over ten years."
"Another reason your have that Davis weather station."
"And it runs on solar power. I'm sure there's coffee on - or at least some K-cups to
choose from, including Becky's favorite: the Café Mocha that's actually hot chocolate
with a bit of coffee in it."

"I'm mixing the icing!"

"I'm rolling out the piecrust!"
"I'm mixing the topping for the sweet potatoes!"
"Sarah, you're not working?"
"Gramps, I can reach the measuring cups and bowls under the counter better than
anybody else - but Gram had to get the mixer 'cause it weighs more than me!"

"Only Mom could manage a staff of sous chefs who are ages three, five, seven and
nine and have them happy about working."
"Tom, the promise of licking the bowls later might have something to do with their
working industriously now."
"It worked for Rob and me."

---

Wednesday, 26 Nov, 2025, 20:30

"Kids, jammies, brush and floss."

"Do we hafta, Momma?"
"Do you always do this at home, Josh?"
"We do."
"Has your Gram or Gramps ever not reminded you when you were here?"
"They always do. I guess I gotta."
"You 'gotta' and so do the other three. I did see Gramps getting books out of the white
bookcase…"
"Books for us! I'm brushing!"
"Me too!"

---

"Sarah's asleep, Jack?"

"Yes, Becky. She did want goodnight kisses from Gram and Gramps but we can do
that when we put the others down."
"I'll take her and put her down and I'll get a picture when you kiss her nose goodnight
so she'll know you did."
 --

"They're all down and kissed, Dad?"

"Yes, Tom. You and Becky have the night off. Good that they're in the basement as
tomorrow's thunderstorms are already here and it's much quieter down there."
"Having three walls below ground level does block atmospheric noises. Seems you
did that with Rob and me when we were in single digit ages."
"We did, until you discovered how interesting lightning was on a night without power
and then you wanted us to turn off all the inside and outside lights so you could see it
better when there was lightning and we had still had power."
"Your current backup options are certainly better than that little Coleman generator I
remember from when we were in elementary school."
"Limited funds and more places to put dollars than dollars to put in those places so a
small used generator that could handle fridge, freezer and gas-fired central heat for $75
was a good deal on Craig's List. I did eke another twelve years or so out of that old
generator."
"As you have from many older pieces of equipment, Dad. I could probably count on
one hand the number of new walk-behind mowers and riding mowers you've bought. I
think you've must have gotten quite a few years from each of the used ones as well."
"I got twelve years from the first riding mower, replacing it when it was seventeen."
"And my neighbor gets maybe three years from a new riding mower."
"Have you ever seen one of his under so much as a sheet of roofing tin or any
evidence of him changing the oil? I store my yard equipment inside a shed which keeps
the mowers, blower, chipper, generators and fuel invisible and protected plus I follow the
oil and filter change schedule - just as with the other vehicles. Forty dollars a year for
maintenance items beats buying another mower in three years."
"By more than a thousand dollars. The kids are asleep and we'll go back to the motel
to watch a movie and have a nightcap. Thanks to you and Mom for making this a place
they want to be."
"We might enjoy having them - a little bit, anyway."
"'A little bit' says the man with the huge grin and smiling eyes. See you tomorrow."

---
 Chapter 3
Thursday, 27 Nov, 2025, 03:10

FLASH!
BOOM!
THUD!

"Jack. Jack?"
"Mmph.
"Jack!"
"What, love?"
"I just woke to a BOOM and THUD. Did lightning get a tree?"
"Maybe a tree and the power - the light in here is from the power failure light in the
master bath."
"There's light in the basement?"
"Similar light in each bath and one in that section of the basement. I'll get trousers,
shoes and a headlight and go check."

Ker-chik.
"You're going armed?"
"With one in the chamber any time the power is off."
"We still have phone service?"
"The U-verse router has backup power here. I can't tell you what they have at the
subscriber carrier terminal up the road. Check for dialtone."
"It's dead."
"Our usual level of service when co-op power is out. Get your cell phone and use the
app to tell the co-op we don't have power. If power's still off at sunup, we can text the
kids that we're in cell phone only mode. I'll check outside for damage and I'll check the
kids in the basement via the cameras. No point in waking them with additional light or
my presence if they slept through the noise. I will get the silent backup system going."
"Why didn't you make that automatic?"
"Too many short outages and too many bang-bang-bang power hits to have the
compressors in the fridge and freezer going into near-locked-rotor stall currents with the
high head pressures of a restart in the same minute as a power loss. Cheaper, as in less
chance of equipment damage, if I wait five or ten minutes to get those things going
again."

---

"Our status, Jack?"

"The maple out front was hit by lightning and it's split into at least three pieces. I need
better light to determine how many."
"Doesn't the yard light… That's off if it's dark inside the house - we do get into the
habit of 'It's always been there; it'll always be there' don't we?"
 "Very easy to do. Very obvious outside that there is no power when the only light is
the lightning and a fire to the North of us. It's too far away to know exactly where it is as
it's just a glow."
"The co-op's substation that supplies us?"
"See what their outage map has for the Buzzard Roost substation."
"It's red, so at least 350 meters out. Touch that substation and I get 1808 out of 1800
meters. 1800 meters?"
"The two apartment complexes near the substation and all the electric car chargers in
the area, maybe? I understand you can just swipe or tap your credit or debit card or NFC
phone to charge your vehicle so I'll guess they track the power used for each charge and
then bill you based on kWH used and the time of day. We can hope that everyone
needing a charge got that done and the vehicle disconnected before the power went down.
Don't think I'd want my expensive electric vehicle connected to the grid when the
substation is hit by lightning."
"You're writing millennial horror stories again, Mr. Wilson."
"Perhaps I am, Mrs. Wilson. I certainly don't expect a happy ending to that story. If
there is a fire at the substation, we could be looking at days to weeks before it can be
repaired. And those apartments are all-electric so no cooking and no heat until those
repairs are complete and where will they charge their Teslas?"
"Your next volume of 'Grim Reality Fairy Tales'?"
"You might say that."

---

Thursday, 27 Nov, 2025, 08:40

"Tom, the alarm… If the light switches don't work, that clock radio doesn't either.
Tom? Tom!"
"Huh?"
"Power's off."
"Thought I heard something during the night. Maybe thunder? Lightning might affect
the power. Or maybe a tree falling?"
"A tree? I don't see any powerlines out the windows."
"This little business section has underground power, like Dad's place. It seems a
developer bet that high end housing would expand out this way and he put in
underground power for the development of the small subdivision that Dad's in on the side
road and this small business center 50 years ago. To the developer's eternal regret and
eventual bankruptcy, all the high end housing development went the other way from town
so this was 'out in the boonies' and only 5% of the lots sold then. Dad later bought
multiple lots plus some surrounding property for pennies on the dollar of the original
prices. His house and the outbuildings are fed from the 100kW pad transformer out front.
This 'business area' was a dead space until they put the Hampton in about three years
ago."
"Transformer? The green box surrounded by nandinas?"
"Yes. It was intended to serve six houses but Dad owns those six lots so all his
property is powered from it. That pad transformer gets power from aerial lines that run
along the main road and go underground at the tee intersection. Those lines run on the
side next to the woods so a tree down there could take out power for the half dozen
houses near Dad and all the businesses here. Dad's is the biggest property at about ten
acres but most of the other people bought some of the land surrounding them to have
room for at least a garden and chickens. Mom and Dad still keep a garden but they got
rid of the pigs a few years ago and the chickens last year. I'm sure they could find more
of either out here if they ever wanted to."
"We can't cook without power."
"The co-op power feed is out but Dad's not without power. That rack of equipment he
was showing us yesterday is backup power for fridge, freezer, central heat and so forth
for a while, plus he has a generator and fuel for several weeks if the outage ran that long."
"It could?"
"Not knowing the cause, I can't give you a time. There's an FM radio station that I
should be able to get on my phone… They're not there so maybe they don't have power
either? Mom or Dad or maybe both will have the co-op's outage app on their cell phone
and be able to tell us how many people are without power and whether the co-op has an
estimate for repair time."
"I can have coffee?"
"Probably from water boiled on the LP cookstove and poured over ground coffee in
the automatic coffee maker's basket but they usually have some Jamaican Blue Mountain
Blend coffee beans and that would be fresh-ground coffee."
"Sounds good. How do we dress for breakfast?"
"Work clothes for me, because Dad may have some storm-related repairs to do."
"I will also. We should pack up and move there?"
"Probably. Let's see if they have an estimated power restoration time and make that
decision when we know more. Since the Hampton doesn't seem to have any backup
power, we can come back later and tell them we're leaving because we aren't paying for
being in the dark and being cold and then we'll see if they just delete the charge for last
night and give us a no-charge cancellation for the rest of the week's reservation."
"Sounds like something your Dad would say."
"You're correct."
"Let's go ask him about power and breakfast."

---
 Chapter 4
Thursday, 27 Nov, 2025, 09:15

"You're a little early for lunch, Tom."

"But my nose tells me we're right on time for the breakfast we didn't get at the
Hampton and it sounds like the kids are enjoying it. Pancakes with fruit faces?"
"Even better. Your Mom now has a food grade color printer for putting pictures on
cakes and pies and the top pancake of each stack has that kid's picture on it. The fruit
pieces are sides on their plates today."
"OK, Dad. I'm now officially in my second childhood so where's my stack?"
"In the oven to stay warm. Plates for both of you."
"And the Vermont maple syrup is warm!"
"Becky, they can't get out of restaurant or maybe it's B&B mode if there are more than
just the two of them at the table."
"That's fine with me, as I'm enjoying this five-star breakfast."
"Me too, Momma! It's yummy!"
"Not sure if Sarah will let me get away with saying 'yummy' but I can't argue with
her."
"Me either."

---

"Dad, how much damage did you have from the storm? I saw some pieces of tree out
by the drive."
"The maple out front was hit by lightning and is in five pieces. That needs to be cut to
firewood length and taken to the woodshed."
"Using the tractor?"
"Using the grapple on the bucket for moving the pieces we can't manage by hand and
then pulling the trailer load of wood around to the woodshed."
"We wait for Rob or start now?"
"We wait for the thunderstorms to end as I don't plan to use a chainsaw in this
weather."
"Makes sense. Does the co-op have a restoration time?"
"All the meters are out at Buzzard Roost and they've had 'Assessing Damage' in the
estimated restoration time block since shortly after we lost power. I did see the glow of a
fire in the distance and a fire at the substation would explain the 'Don't have a time'
status."
"The outside thermometer in the van was showing 43F on the way over. We'll have
heat?"
"I'm using the wi-fi monitor on the battery bank to track its status and I think we'll
need to run the inverter generator for a couple of three hour sessions to power the central
heat and the oven igniter during cooking and to recharge the battery bank for overnight
use. That's maybe a gallon of fuel and with tomorrow's promised sun we may only need
the gen for three hours to bring the batteries up to full charge quickly in the morning and
then have the solar panels provide power most of the day. I'll be checking the batteries
every hour. We can heat part of the main level with the gas logs in the fireplace up here.
That will fool the central thermostat into thinking the house is warmer than it is but we
can close off part of the area if needed. I'd prefer not to have a wood fire in the fireplace
in the basement as we'd have to bring in some cold outside air for a good draft and that
reduces the amount of heat it provides."
"Even with your 'slot fire', Dad?"
"Tom, the slot fire does put more heat into the room than the generic 'logs in the
fireplace' fire but that and the kerosene heater are fallbacks if we don't have enough
power for the central system blower."
"So power restoration is a month or more out?"
"Possibly. I'm thinking that damage to one of those big transformers might be a very
long term repair as some of their transformers and switchgear are made in South Korea
and shipping alone might be a month or more, plus whatever the production time is."
"You can get gas for the generator?"
"The AM radio station South of us is on the air on grid power so we can buy gas
twenty miles away and the pipeline terminal in the city shouldn't be affected as we seem
to be part of the only big outage from the storm."
"You've heard from Rob?"
"They were having a pancakes and bacon MRE. He said that if you can get the texture
past your tongue, the taste is acceptable. They'll be here for lunch as will the others - all
coming 'heads-down' in the vans. You also have a couple of loads to get."
"Know where they are and we'll come back via the covered bridge. Nice that our van
was one of the 'standard' colors for its model year and there are hundreds of vans that
color on the road. We're almost invisible."
"That's true. Like the maroon pickup I once owned. We were at the high school for
some event and the truck was one of six assorted vehicles of nearly identical color that
were parked side-by-side."
"That's our van."

---

Thursday, 27 Nov, 2025, 10:01

'Top of this morning's news is the power outage at the Buzzard Roost substation. The
co-op is still investigating the damage apparently caused by lightning around 3AM.
Sheriff Buckley has asked that those with power or at least heat take in neighbors who
don't have heat. Neither the high school gym nor the community centers usually used as
"warming centers" have power so the County is asking for help from the residents.
Masks are still required but the gathering limits of "ten people" and "outside tables only"
for Thanksgiving have been rescinded until power is restored. The extended weather
forecast has the possibility of four inches of snow and temperatures below twenty degrees
Sunday night. We'll be back with the full forecast after this message…'

"So we don't need to hide the people we're bringing in today?"

 "Apparently not, Tom, but we'll still bring them in through the garage to keep them
dry. Would you text Ron that bit of news? I plan to go to the Wally World that's open
and pick up a half dozen five gallon gas cans and then fill those cans at the nearest station
that has power."
"A month's worth of gas?"
"That number is based on some much shorter test periods, but if you add that to the
current stock we're certainly good for at least a month."
"What about food and water?"
"Food we're good on, as we got into the habit of a ninety day pantry after the first big
ice storm hit out here. We didn't have power and the roads were almost impassible for
two weeks. After 90 days of variety, we might get tired of beans and rice but we won't be
hungry for the first six months or more. For now, County Water has power so we have
nearly unlimited water. I will move the 150 gallon water tank that's out in the shed to the
basement and fill it today. That would provide 24 people with two gallons per person per
day for three days or the two of us with that much water for more than a month, including
a few sun shower bag sized showers. If County Water lost power, I'd fill a Bathtub-BOB
to have another 80 gallons or so before the County's water tank emptied. Beyond that,
the 275 gallon rainwater tank behind the equipment shed is nearly full and that's runoff
from a metal roof so no chemicals to speak of and that water can be run through the
Sawyer Point Zero Two filter to remove bacteria and viruses and then an activated
charcoal filter to remove just about everything else. For the very long term, I have some
55 gallon plastic barrels in which I could build slow sand filters like the County Water
System uses for filtering water from Lake Thomas. They're big and heavy but they last
for years."
"I texted Rob and he's on his way for the first of today's loads. I should start my first
taxi run as well."
"Stay safe."
"I will and I'm armed. People sometimes go crazy when they hear someone say 'Oh
my God! The power's out for days!'"
"Would you rather take the Suburban? I don't think you'll need low range 4WD but it
is bigger than the van."
"And a lot more intimidating. Good idea."
"Keys by the door to the garage."
"On my way."

---
 Chapter 5
Thursday, 27 Nov, 2025, 13:50

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Jack, that sounds official."

"It does, love, and I see a Sheriff's Cruiser with its blue light on parked on the road."

"Yes, Deputy?"
"Mr. Wilson, we have a report of you having more than the allowable number of
people in your residence."
"Deputy Simms, is it?"
"Yes, sir."
"Did you hear the news at 10AM?"
"No, sir."
"Let me replay that for you."

'Sheriff Buckley has asked that those with power or at least heat take in neighbors who
don't have heat. Neither the high school gym nor the community centers usually used as
"warming centers" have power so the County is asking for help from the residents.
Masks are still required for non-family but the gathering limits of "ten people" and
"outside tables only" for Thanksgiving have been rescinded until power is restored.'

"I haven't heard that."

"I suggest you check with your HQ and see what they say. I'm sure there are people
out here without power or a battery-operated radio who haven't heard it either."

'317.'
'Go ahead 317.'
'Did the Sheriff say that the rules on number of people at a location are rescinded?'
'He did. That went out to all units at 0943.'
'I was writing a ticket in that dead spot on County 211 about then so I missed it. Does
Dispatch know as they called me with a "too many people" report about five minutes
ago?'
'I'll phone and text Dispatch to ensure they're updated.'
'Thanks. 317 out.'

"Sorry, sir. I missed the message earlier today and someone in Dispatch apparently
did also. Happy Thanksgiving."
"Happy Thanksgiving, Deputy. My wife fixed a plate for you. Coffee or iced tea?"
"You have coffee without power?"
"We can still use an ancient camping percolator on the LP stove so we can brew
coffee."
"Thank you, sir."
 ---

'317 from 321. Can you meet me at the Chevron?'

'On my way. 317 out.'
321 out.'

"Simms, I was going to suggest the Burger Doodle but what smells so good in your
cruiser?"
"Bekins, that's a gift from someone I went to hassle about breaking the number of
people limitations - before he played the morning newscast for me. He said it was 'a
plate' but there's enough for two and a big thermos of coffee."
"This food is great! Where is this person I should be nice to?"
"In that almost empty subdivision off Lake Thomas Road. The yellow brick house at
the end of the road."
"Some nice houses but really out in the boonies."
"My Dad told me the area was probably one of the best bargains in real estate just
after that developer went bust."
"Pennies on the dollar?"
"For the land. The houses were less than half the original asking prices."
"Not someone rich but someone with a good eye for value?"
"That's how it looks to me. The vehicles were all several years old so not likely a
'Keeping up with the Joneses' or 'I'm in a better place than you' outlook."
"Good people - and they can cook!"

---

"Gram, can we have dessert now?"

"Amelia, that's 'May we have dessert now?', not 'can'."
"What's the difference?"
"'Can' means able to. I think all of you are able to eat as much dessert as I put on your
plate…"
"All but Sarah. She doesn't eat as much as the rest of us."
"Sarah's not as big as the rest of you so she her stomach isn't as big. Back to 'can'
versus 'may'. 'May' means you have permission. Each of you must ask your parents."
"But they're all asleep in front of the TV!"
"Then you must wait until they wake up."
"Not fair!"
"The parents of all you kids are asleep so none of you get dessert right now. What's
not fair about that?"
"Not fair 'cause I can't wait for the red velvet cake!"
"Do you remember how long 15 minutes is on this clock?"
"The big hand goes from 6 to 9?"
"Correct. Ask me again in 15 minutes and I'll think about waking all of them."
"If I gotta."
"You 'gotta'."
 ---

"Tom, Becky, Rob, Janice. Coffee time."

"That is so unfair, Mom. Waving a cup of gourmet coffee and a piece of warm
pumpkin pie under our noses."
"I could have set off the smoke alarm."
"OK. I give. The scents are a much better wakeup. The little animals are restless?"
"They're asking for dessert but I told them they must have permission from their
parents."
"How'd the game end?"
"Tech by 15 points."
"At least I didn't bet this year. Where are the kids?"
"In the basement watching a very old episode of 'The Cisco Kid'. Those are only 24
minutes each so easy enough to keep them busy 'just a little longer' while the adults
sleep."
"So desserts for all the adults and kids, then we take the in-laws back home with their
leftovers then we deliver the 'dinners'?"
"Correct. We'll use the folding wall in the basement to make rooms for you and
Becky, and Rob and Janice on one side and all the kids on the other side. They still get
their sleepover together but with their parents in residence - unless you want to return to
the Hampton?"
"We'll go back there to get our clothes and things but we'd rather live where we have
some level of power and heat. Any updates on the repairs?"
"Still in 'Assessing Damage'. On the 2PM news, the Fire Chief mentioned that at least
one big transformer had suffered 'major damage' when struck by lightning so I think the
repair time will be measured in weeks or months."
"You don't seem greatly concerned about that."
"We have multiple backups for power, heat, cooking and water. We have food for
several months. What should I be 'greatly concerned' about?"
"Guess I've been living in the city too long. There, any power outage longer than 12
hours is a major event. Here, you see an outage that might last months as little more than
an annoyance."
"Helps to know your options and we've been working on 'options' for a number of
years."

---

The End