Ice Storm Memories

This morning, when getting our Sunday paper from the bin, I was greeted by pictures on the front page of the ice storm. Apparently, today marks the tenth anniversary of that powerful storm. If you aren't from Oklahoma, this doesn't seem like that big of a deal. However, to me, the ice storm changed the way I look at life, and taught me a few lessons in the process. I will now recap my recollections of that time from my then-nine-year-old perspective.

On the night of January 29, I remember hearing Gary England, Oklahoma weather guru extraordinaire, say on the 10:00 news that there was the possibility of lots of freezing rain and accumulating ice. Being a nine-year-old, I didn't think too much of that statement, and went on to bed, knowing that I would have to wake up and deal with the drudgery of another day in 3rd grade. (I hated third grade. It simply wasn't a good year for me.) The sound of thunder and pouring rain lulled me to sleep, and I forgot about everything. Until I suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. I heard Gina tell my parents that the power was out, and I saw a glimmer of hope that there might not be school in the morning. Besides, our power went out on occasion, and it wasn't that big of a deal, was it? I went back to sleep.

The next thing I new, it was morning. I really don't know what time it was, because the clock in the bedroom that I shared with Emily was black. Again, I heard something about no school, so I was excited! I could go play in the snow all day! I was elated by this thought until I took a peek outside my bedroom window, when I realized that it wasn't snowy. I had never seen anything like it in my life. It was bizarre, to say the least. I ran into my mom's bedroom to ask her what happened. She told me that it was ice on all of the trees and grass and everything else. That thought alone seemed pretty crazy to me. However, I was out of school for the day, and I figured that the sun would come out, the ice would melt, and I would be back to school in the next couple of days. That's how it always worked, right?

I'm wasn't sure why, but my mom was freaking out about there not being water. I thought that she was crazy, because all you had to do was turn on the faucet, and, boom, there was water. No big deal. She was frantically searching for five-gallon buckets and placing them under the eave of the roof, to catch the runoff water, then she put the water into a big pot on the stove and boiled it. Gina and Emily were helping her, but I just floated around, oblivious of the reality. I was having fun. I got to eat PB&J for lunch, my favorite, so everything was perfectly fine. There started to be talk of getting a generator, whatever that was. I heard that it had something to do with us getting power back, so I was all for it. Emily, who was still dating Scotty at that point, was on the phone with him off and on, and there was talk about how every store in the greater Enid area was running out of generators, and they had to be reserved by credit card. We didn't have one, so my parents were talking about getting one soon. By the time that night rolled around, I got to eat another PB&J, we had the radio on, and Gina, Emily, and I played Uno & Taboo by candlelight, while our parents went to town to get a generator. It was fun, kind of like camping, I suppose. Mom & Dad got home from town late. There was talk about siphoning gas from our combine so that our generator would have gas to run on. I was too little to be of any help, so I just sat in the living room and listened to the music on the radio, while everyone else worked to get the generator up and running. I realized that something wasn't quite right. Eventually, I lulled myself to sleep again, hoping that I would wake up and everything would be back to normal.

The next day, I woke up, and my hopes were dashed. It was still an icy abyss outside, and our power was nonexistent. PB&J really didn't sound good anymore, but it was what we had. I was also starting to get tired of the radio, because we only listened to one station, a country music station, and I'm fairly certain that the only songs they played were "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning" by Alan Jackson, "Bring on the Rain" by Jo Dee Messina, & "I'm Moving On" by Rascal Flatts. If you have ever heard any of these songs, you know that they aren't exactly uplifting, good-mood songs. In fact, they are quite the opposite. After hearing them a few times over, it became pretty depressing. As the day progressed, I heard my parents talk about the devastation. They said that there were power poles down in so many places, that it was nearly impossible for them to make their trip to Enid the night before to get the generator. They also talked about how almost every power pole/line they could see was broken and on the ground. I couldn't even fathom that thought.
Then came the news that ultimately dashed my hopes: there was word that we wouldn't get our power back for at least a week or two.

For a third grader, that was the worst thing you could've told me. I had never known anything except having electricity. I had never had to deal with a major power outage. My world came crashing down around me. How would we cook? Would we ever get to turn on the lights again? Would we ever get to watch TV? Would I ever get to take a good shower? I was in a tailspin. I had no idea how everything was going to work, and I was very worried.

After a few days, my parents got the generator rigged up so that our deep freezers (which were full of fresh beef), our heater, and our water well all worked. We had a gas range top, so we could manually light it to cook on the stove top. We started to make do. I still hated it, but, then again, I was still out of school. Most of our nights were quiet and candlelit. Emily had happened to get a cherry-scented Yankee candle for Christmas that year, which we used quite often. I believe it was sometime around day 3 or 4 that we decided that we hated that candle and its scent. We opted for as many unscented candles as possible from that point on.

After a certain point, I was ready to go back to school, because then there was word that we'd be in school until June. Really?! All of those days off were nice, but going to school until June? That was the last straw. I spent quite a bit of time at Mimi & Grandpa's house after everyone went back to work. They didn't have power either, but it was better than being stuck at home. After about a week or so, my dad figured out how to get the TV to work on the generator. We had to shut almost everything else off, but we could watch TV! Then, two things happened. One, I had to go back to school. Two, it had already been two weeks, and our prognosis wasn't so good; it was looking like it would be at least the middle of March before we would get power back. I remember crying when I heard that news, because I had had it already. My parents weren't much comfort, but, then again, I was a drama queen about that kind of stuff.

Eventually, normal became redefined for my family. We couldn't use the microwave, dryer, dishwasher (I think), specific lights in the house, the electric oven, and the computer. The curling iron/blow dryer may have been in the mix, but I really can't remember. We could no longer defrost meat in the microwave as we had gotten used to, so meals had to be planned quite a bit in advance. It took much longer for my sisters and I to get ready. Anytime we left the house for a while, we had a list of things to do in order to save energy. This included a page-long checklist of how to shut off the generator, which breaker switches to turn, which cords to unplug, etc. This also had to be done every night, as we never slept with the generator on; we just bundled up more and found battery-powered alarm clocks. An interesting advent for my sisters and I was the discovery of velcro hair rollers. We became able to curl/fix our hair without having to use electrical appliances. We also had to get ready about two to three hours ahead of time so that those curlers would work. Thankfully, we still had a clothes line in our backyard, so we could get our clothes dried. Also, Gina took some of our clothes to the laundromat on occasion. We also learned that some things didn't need to be washed as often, like towels and pants.

In the midst of the madness, one really big thing happened for my family: Scotty proposed to Emily! I liked having him around, and I was excited that he would be there for all time to come. I was excited for Emily, and also for the prospect of getting to be in a wedding! I will admit though, I wasn't completely excited, as I soon realized how much work really went in to planning a wedding, as my parents started becoming busy with it. (What can I say, I was a third grader and a bratty diva. On the contrary, I understand the situation much better now, and I wish that I would've been much more patient with everything.)

This brings me to one point I mentioned earlier, third grade was the worst for me. I didn't really like my teacher, I had some struggles with my friends, people were perpetually trying to copy my homework, I broke my wrist on the monkey bars, I learned to write cursive the day after that happened, then with the ice storm and having no power for a month at that point, not to mention the prospect of having to have a significantly longer school year, add that all up and you would understand why I was pretty down in the dumps.

In the first week or so of March, things began looking up: After 35 long days, our power was restored! I had never been so happy to have electricity! Everything was going to get better, I was sure of it. By then, the "dark days" were over!

In retrospect, I learned a few things. First of all, I learned how to not be so reliant on modern technologies. I also learned how to be more resourceful. I learned that there is something to be learned from adversity, and that no matter how crazy things seem, one day, it will all be better, and perhaps, you will be able to laugh at the madness that once reigned. Finally, I learned that if Gary England says that there is the possibility of large accumulations of freezing rain/ice, you should probably listen and prepare (i.e. have fuel, water, and other resources on hand and readily available.).

Also, a few good things came out of that time: As I mentioned earlier, a new found respect for modern technology, Scotty & Emily's engagement, a new refrigerator (ours cratered in the process), and more things that escape me at the moment. As for third grade, I ended the year on a high note, having won the Chisholm/PPV spelling bee! Also, that was the year that Tevis moved to Pioneer. Although he didn't seem that important to me in that moment, I realize now how that was the beginning of everything to come.

The ice storm changed my life. For a short while, I lived in the fear of that happening again. I also panicked when our power would so much as blink off. I hope that nothing of that magnitude will ever happen again, but if it does, I will have a better idea of what to do and how to prepare! If nothing else, it will be a good story to tell future generations!