Storm in Seattle (or why I didn't answer your email)

Last Thursday we began to hear warnings, “Big storm predicted for Friday.” So Thursday afternoon I backed up my computer files, shut down the computer and stocked up on the basics. Crossing Queen Anne Avenue was like fording a small river. Overnight the wind was really loud and rain kept coming down. But we were lucky. The power flickered. I missed some emails. And by Friday morning, the streets were dry and the air was crisp and cool. Others were not so lucky. Most of my friends and neighbors with “real” jobs got Friday off. Schools were closed. Trees fell and demolished some homes. Our local newspaper plant lost power so we had no print news on Friday. And as I write this ezine, many homes in Seattle have been without power for days. At every gathering you hear people asking, “Do you have power yet?” My second winter in Seattle: very different from last year in every way.