Power back==more to come this evening

The power outage is over for my household even though there are 20-some thousand in our vicinity who are still waiting, including some at my job.

I'm grateful to say this is the longest outage I've ever experienced by far. The only one more eventful was the big August 14, 2003 Northeast blackout that left Manhattan completely unlit and lasted for a good 20 hours.

I was sitting in my Hell's Kitchen apartment on the very hot afternoon it happened. As soon as the realization settled in (mostly by talking to a few neighbors in our hallway), I decided to go to Times Square and see what was going on.

After all that hubbub started to grow old, as in 20 minutes or less, I started to really take in the fact that I was going back to a dark, empty apartment by myself with nothing to look forward to but sleep. I didn't even have a flashlight!

Then, by all miracles, I got a phone call from my old boss (in his early 60s) at my magazine, Graphic Arts Monthly, where I had been an associate editor until I quit in November of 2002 to write on my own (with the intent to write about the Bible for publication).

He didn't have any way to get back to his home in New Jersey and, of all people, he called me to ask if I could take him in. By my recommendation, after he arrived at dinnertime we went down my street to the corner of 11th and headed one block south to the legendary old Irish pub from the 1800s called the Landmark Tavern, where they were grilling sausages and burgers, etc.

So, we had a very nice enjoyable time in each other's company and soon after the power came on the next morning around 11 a.m. he took me to lunch at a Greek restaurant in my neighborhood before he left for his bus terminal at Port Authority.