Sunday night, we were on our way back home from a weekend trip down to southern Missouri. As it was getting dark, the lightning was growing more intense. We were about half-way through our journey when our 11-year-old son asked if we could stop so that he could get out and stretch. So, we exited at the Moberly turn-off and drove into one of their gas stations. By that time, the rain had started, so I decided to stay in the van while the guys went inside for snacks and to pay for gas.

     While I was out there, the wind picked up and it was getting rather stormy. Also, I noticed a truck with a flashing blue light driving through town, followed by a fire engine with its siren on. It wasn't long before Norman opened the gas station door and motioned for me to come inside.

     When I got inside, he announced that there was a tornado warning out. I guess the town's tornado siren wasn't working, so that's why the trucks were going around town with their lights and sirens on. We decided to wait out the storm in the gas station. The boys settled in and ate their snacks while we looked at a map and picked up on the latest happenings from the locals. There had been a tornado spotted north of town, but it hadn't touched the ground.

     Around 10:00 pm, things were letting up some and the attendant was wanting to lock up for the evening, so we headed on out. We came upon some flooding, but it was shallow enough that we were able to drive through it. There was still lots of lightning to the north of us, so we kept the radio on the rest of the way, to hear the latest weather reports. The storm picked up again around Kirksville, so it slowed our traveling down a bit.

     We finally arrived at our town at 1:00 Monday morning. After we turned off onto one of the main streets, we were alerted to trouble when we noticed a huge pile of metal roofing on one side of the street and an evergreen tree laying over ontop a house on the other side. With branches strewn all around, we were a little anxious at what we'd find once we reached home.

     What we found was a large pile of tree branches on the street in front of our house... and the power line to our house had been snapped. It had been pulled away from our house and two of the three lines that were twisted together had been cut and were hanging bare in our driveway. Because of this, most of the electricity in our house was out. The computer and refrigerator were still running, but the lights and air conditioning were out.

     One of our neighbors was still up, so we went over there to find out what had happened. It sounded like it was the same system that we had driven through, but this one produced 70 mph winds. There was a tornado spotted south of town, but it sounds like the high winds caused most of the damage here in town. Also, our neighbor told us that their backyard had been flooded again.

     Norman called the electric company and I unpacked (with the aid of a flashlight). It was pretty muggy, we were a little concerned about possible fire hazards, and the boys were still wound up from our trip, so we moved the boys' mattresses into our bedroom and tried to settle down for the night... since it didn't appear that our power would come up any time soon.

      Later that morning, after we woke up and Norman went on to work, I discovered that the washer worked, but the dryer didn't. I desperately needed to wash clothes, so off to the laundromat we went. The boys were excited about this, since this was only the second time that they had ever gone to one. We were having trouble a couple of months ago with our dryer, so we had gone to one then and the boys had enjoyed it. This time, there were a couple of other kids there, so they had fun playing with them. The moveable laundry baskets with built-in rods for hangers became dinosaurs as they pushed them around and searched for each other.

     Meanwhile, Norman stopped in to announce that the electric company wouldn't be able to hook us up. We would have to have an electrician reconnect us, since it involved putting up new wiring on the side of our house. This was going to be costly, but we had no choice. Also, the electrician wouldn't be able to come out until the next day. Later that day, the power guys stopped by and killed the rest of our power. There went the refrigerator... and my computer.

     And, wouldn't you know it... the hottest and muggiest day yet this year and we had no air conditioning! Yes, I know we're terribly spoiled, but it can be quite miserable if a person isn't used to it. But, I also found out it can be a blessing. We got to eat out!   While sitting at our table in Breadeaux's air-conditioned building, eating a $5 order of breadsticks and drinking our glasses of water, we counted our pennies and figured that we would have enough for the electrician's estimate. I'm not sure how we will pay the house payment and other bills coming up at the beginning of next month, but the Lord will provide. He always does.

     Monday night was another "camp-out in Dad & Mom's bedroom". Not very happy campers either, but we did survive.

     The electrician and his crew came this morning and rewired the side of our house. We still weren't connected to the main power yet, so the boys and I were, well, bored. Yes, I'm sure there were things that I could have done, but I just didn't feel like it. It was still dark in some parts of the house, the computer was off, and any movement produced sweat. I needed to get some groceries, but since I didn't know when the power was going to come back on, it wasn't feasible to bring back a bunch of food to stick in a warm refrigerator. The boys were tired, grumpy and hot and were easily getting irritated with each other, so we finally went our separate ways. One went out to play with the kitten, the other went in his room to read... and I took a nap. 

     Finally, around 3:30, this blessed sight arrived:

     Yep! We got power! And, just as the guy finished hooking us up, the winds started blowing and it started raining again. Sigh. Here we go again! But, as a side note, we do appreciate the guys who work for the power companies. The ones who came yesterday and killed the rest of our power said that they had been up all the previous night. After taking a two-hour nap and returning to the company, they were given another list of 40 places to go.

     So, here I sit... all cool, dry and comfy-cozy. The boys are once again in their individual bedrooms, tucked under their blankets with their fans blowing, a-snorin' away. There's food in the refrigerator and I was able to cook a large spaghetti dinner on our stove tonight. Ah... this is the life!

     But then you might ask... so where does the "duds" from my title fit in? Well, when our power came back on, I turned on our main computer and nothing happened. It's kind of like one of those Missouri fireworks that doesn't bring forth its report. It's a dud. We do have Norman's laptop (that I am using right now), but we get emails through the other one. Oh well, just another inconvenience in the life and times of my spoiled and pampered life.  

     ~Connie~