Rodent Regatta

On July 22, 2003 at 7:35 in the morning, Memphis, TN experienced a freak storm consisting of 100MPH ”straightline winds.” This was a bit like an inland hurricane.

The local utility company known as Memphis Light, Gas & Water saw 306,000 of its customers lose power. That’s customers – not people. Multiply by about three to determine the number of people that were impacted. Literally, I have lived in the dark with no air conditioning since the morning of July 22, 2003.

At 5:20p.m. this afternoon, power was restored. Until then, I had no way to use computers, phones, cellular service, etc. The national media has not covered this story. Memphis, TN looks like a war zone. One hundred year old trees blew over at the roots or split open. They now litter the city.

You simply cannot imagine how devastating it can be to a metropolitan area of over one million people to have 70% of the area without electricity.

If you’ve read this far and can influence others to resume reading this weblog, I’d appreciate it. We’ll be attempting to return to normal posting over the next couple of days.

If you’ve been expecting an email or phone call from me, know that I’m trying to catch up, but it may be several days before you hear from me.