Live Small and Prosper: The 5th anniversary of The Blackout is tomorrow

Part 6

Tomorrow's date will mark five years since my wife and I huddled around a crank radio with a few neighbours on our porch, agreed not to open the freezer doors while we used up food from the fridge and I kept asking:

“Anyone want more yogurt? Please?”

That turned out to be a good plan after we learned from our immediate neighbour we could be in for a long haul since The Blackout affected such a large area the process of getting everyone back online would take days.


Ontario Hyrdo One’s Anne Creighton reported the following:

“We're checking our system to see what the impact is, but it looks like the majority of the province could be out.”

New York Governor George Pataki added:

"Well over half of the people of the state are without power." [CBC News Online]

It helped our mood that our neighbour brought a rare single malt whisky to contribute to our stock of dwindling drinks.

I grabbed more chairs, asked the growing crowd to squeeze in a little closer [we reached 12 guests and declared it an official ‘knee-knocking’ party by 10 p.m.] and brought out my own bottle of single malt.

Or was it two?

Warm conversations flowed, ice melted in more ways than one, a rare atmosphere developed, neighbours became friends and we realized we’d get through The Blackout by sharing advice, skills and supplies.

The beer, whisky and close quarters helped but The Blackout was the catalyst that provided a different flavour to our street.

And more.

Tomorrow - the final installment

[See below for Part 5]

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Live Small and Prosper: The 5th anniversary of The Blackout is 2 days away

Part 5

At 7 p.m., three hours after The Blackout on August 14, 2003 my wife and I tidied our front porch and welcomed the return of a few neighbours.

Soon a small group huddled around a crank radio and wondered what had caused The Blackout, if some folks would have to work the next day, how to deal with future meals and frozen food - among other things.

While we enjoyed a breeze in London, Ontario James Thompson, who works in Manhattan, said:

"People that would normally be inside are outside because they are baking in their buildings.”


When Robert MacKenzie, supervisor of communications for Toronto, was asked where Mayor Mel Lastman was he replied:

“I have no idea.” [CBC News Online]

However, when I asked who wanted a Guinness before it got warm I received positive replies.

One came from a disembodied voice several feet away.

“I do,” said a neighbour sitting alone in the dark on his nearby porch and in return for Guinness he brought bad news and good whisky.

Tomorrow - Part 6.

[Click here for Part 4]

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Live Small and Prosper: The 5th anniversary of the Blackout is 5 days away

Part 4 (Saturday’s advance edition]

Two hours after the blackout on August 14, 2003 my wife and I shared a romantic candle-lit supper cooked over a roaring propane stove.

By seven o’clock the romance was over.

We needed to tidy our porch for visitors.

Recently I learned that while we tidied a reader took a worrisome journey.

Smarmoofus wrote:

I was sitting on a subway train with my sister in midtown Manhattan when The Blackout hit. Our host lived in Brooklyn. The subway was down, buses were packed like human sardine tins, roads were gridlocked, and there wasn't a cab to be had... So my sister and I started walking.


It took us about 6 hours to get to my friend's flat in Brooklyn... My friend, sadly, never heard from us 'til we showed up at his door. His relief was as great as ours... We were so glad we made it to the apartment safely. [unedited story here]


Shortly after 7 p.m. our own guests arrived.

Stay tuned for Part 5.

[Click here for Part 3]

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Live Small and Prosper: The 5th anniversary of “The Blackout” is 6 days away

Part 3

The historic blackout that hit Ontario and much of northeastern U.S. on August 14, 2003, causing millions to feel the unpleasant effects of one big problem leading to many others, brought my neighbourhood closer together.

On the one hand, Giovanna Leonardo, who was waiting in line with 200 people for a Staten Island bus, said, "I'm scared. It's that unknown ‘What's going on?’ feeling. Everyone's panicking. The city's shutting down.” (CBC News Online)


[Photo - Toronto skyline: CBC News Online]

On the other, closer to home, Margie, a neighbour in London, Ontario spotted a group of men (including me) sipping beers on a nearby porch while listening for news on a crank radio and asked, “When will the hydro return?”

We wondered the same thing and also debated the following:

Should we have another beer before supper?

Because my neighbour’s supply was gone I offered to play host on my front porch after a make-shift meal.

After quick good-byes I walked home to look for candles.

Stay tuned for Part 4.

[Please read Part 2 for context]

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Live Small and Prosper: The 5th anniversary of “The Blackout” is 7 days away

Part 2

On August 14, 2003 because of the blackout that hit Ontario and much of northeastern U.S. many neighbours became my friends.

Shortly after 4 p.m. the lights went out at London’s downtown YMCA, the treadmill I was on stopped running and so did I - very abruptly.

Many days later CBC News Online reported:

The cause of the blackout, according to Canada-U.S. joint task force, can be traced back to FirstEnergy Corp. of Ohio. FirstEnergy's EastLake plant shut down unexpectedly... triggering problems on its transmission line that triggered a cascade effect that caused the blackout.


[See photo in context]

After showering in the dark (and in the nude as I recall) I biked home on my Raleigh 5-speed and noticed the blackout’s effects had cascaded onto my neighbour’s porch.

“Drink this before it gets warm,” he said, and handed me a beer.

Ten minutes later two friends arrived carrying more beer and a crank radio.

Stay tuned for Part 3

[Read Part 1 below for context]

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Live Small and Prosper: The 5th anniversary of “The Blackout” is 8 days away

Part 1

On August 14, 2003, because of a hydro blackout, I enjoyed a most pleasant evening on two front porches in Wortley Village.

CBC News Online reported the incident in the following manner:

At 4:11 p.m. ET on Aug. 14, 2003, Ontario and much of the northeastern U.S. were hit by the largest blackout in North America's history. Electricity was cut to 50 million people, bringing darkness to customers from New York to Toronto to North Bay.


[Photo in context]

Streetlights went out, subway trains stopped mid-tunnel and refrigeration equipment went dead. And while some electricity consumers had service restored by early the next morning, many areas remained in darkness well into the next day and even the one following. [Aug. 20, 2003]

It was for many a serious incident.

On my street, however, the blackout is remembered fondly.

First, my next door neighbour called me over to enjoy a beer before it got warm.

[Stayed tuned for Part 2]

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