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| Assessing the damage the next morning, 10/30/2014 |
Can you remember where you were 3 years ago tonight? Right about now, if you were fortunate to be inside and not marooned in a grocery store for the night or crawling down the highway, most locals were listening to the snapping and cracking of trees in the night. The breaking sound was explosive, followed quickly by the sound of branches and trees crashing to the ground. I remember staying up all night in the darkness (the power was gone by early evening) wondering when the next tree would come down on the house. And eventually that's exactly what I heard. We were without power for five days, and trapped in our house on the hill - trees entwined with electric line fell across our driveway, making it impossible to drive out. And the temperature kept dropping each day. Anyone living in the valley vividly remembers exactly what they were doing and where they were that week. What's your story?
We were among those people in the grocery store, Stop and Shop in Belchertown. We were driving back that evening and never made it home. We pulled into the parking lot andfound ourselves wioth dozens of other people who had taken shelter there. It was dark, but people had flashlights and we slept in the aisles. It was so crazy but everyone, managers and everyone was so kind.
ReplyDeleteI remember having to use our neighbor's bathroom facilities for almost an entire week as our pump wasn't working. It was so awful. Camping out times 10.
ReplyDeletees, I remember. It was terrible! Cold and dark for about a week. But during the day it was sunny and bright. We walked around the neighborhood greeting people and sharing what we had. I kept food cold in a cooler chest on the porch and fortunately could cook on my stove.
ReplyDeleteEating up the frozen yogurt I had left at my kitchen table by candle light. Watched a huge oak tree in front of my window come crashing down just missing the roof of my apartment building by about 4 inches. Would have gone through my ceiling. Unreal!
ReplyDeletel had the flu. No electricity. We kept hearing the trees falling out back. And we learned if you put enough candles in the bathroom it can actually warm up the room. I also learned enough burning candles can make you hate the smell in Yankee Candle.
ReplyDeleteSaw the tree branches hitting the ground after the first inch and knew it would be bad. We slept in the basement that night, and heard the moaning snaps of limbs through the night. Woke up to a yard full of brush, and had no power for 6 days. Good thing for a friend with a chainsaw.
ReplyDeleteSomeone told me today that he had been out of state and was coming back into the area on Sunday. An eerie silence across Amherst as he drove down Pleasant Street and the center of town. Except for one brightly lit establishment in a sea of darkened store fronts. It was Antonio's - working with a generator and serving food!
ReplyDeleteI remember putting all the food from the refrig and freezer in the snow...and then after conserving cell phone power as best as we could, we went to Barnes and Noble and recharged the phones there. ... I also remember stAnding on long lines to get a cup of coffee from the restaurants that had power.
ReplyDeleteThanks, everyone, for the memories. That sense of community in the midst of the storm lives on right here. (And by all means, keep them coming!)
ReplyDelete