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So I was sending out packages in the afternoon. And whilst I prepared them I was listening to this bizarre Ambient music from a channel on iTunes called the Drone Zone. The music claimed to be so relaxing that it shouldn’t be mixed with medications and should be served chilled.
Then at approximately 410 the lights all went out. The first thing I noticed was even with everyone coming out from their offices, cubes and cubbies and talking, the office was so quiet, no buzzing of hundreds of computers. Or phones ringing or the sound the florescent bulbs give off when they are on. None of that. Was it just our building? I called Ani and confirmed that Times Square was out as well. I called Mike "phunkie" Vuolo and he was on Long Island confirming our reservation for paintball this weekend, as the lights went out in Long Island. People were calling home and wherever they could think of to find out about loved ones and where there was or was not lights. Northampton Massachusetts, home of Family Fun magazine also was in the dark. Mike "Squilky" Kraus down in Northern Virginia said that the Maryland/DC/Virginia area was still online, but he would get back to me when he heard anything.
At this point Ani’s building was closing down, and there was real confusing at mine, so I told Wendy I was going. It was 430 and I know we had limited light left in the day. That God its August not December. So I walked down13flights of stairs until I reached outside. When I arrived it seemed everyone was on his or her cell phones. I was too, trying to get any info I could out of Squilky and trying to track down Phunkie.
This kind of makes you think of 9/11 but quite frankly when two fire-trucks are together in the city I wonder what has happened now. I think I’ll be forever traumatized. But I was eerily calm. Since I saw no smoke, or fire. The thing you heard on radios was that the power grid went out. What that means? I have no idea. Well to us here in New York, the surrounding area, everywhere north and west of us till Michigan was back in Little House on the prairie.
So after trudging through mounds and mounds of people I finally catch-up with my half-pint. She was so happy to see me. (Who wouldn’t be) MTV’s Sway was doing a remote, I tossed up some gang signs behind him.
Non-sequiter. As I was writing someone calls. So I go over and answer, since the answering machine is off, on behalf of the blackout. It was one of Mom’s friends form PR. How did she get our number? Bizarre, and she said "we are watching what is happening on the news." So I said, "Oh what’s going on." She tells me that the lights have gone out, she sure is listening. It turns out she called information and asked for Vuolo, and when she heard my name, she probably though Mom’s phone was still under my Dad’s name.
Back to the story. So Ani and I head towards Grand Central to catch a Queens bound express bus. What a mistake that was. There were literally thousands of people in or about the GCT area. Back to Plan A, over the 59th street bridge. So along with throngs of others we made it to the bridge. We took the lower roadway because it is a shorter walk. Ani was still moving pretty well. We slowly sipped some free bottled water we got from the deli owner who stayed open an extra five minutes so Ani could pee in the dark. Having never walked over the bridge it was pretty cool. Especially when we were about halfway and got a great blast of cold air from the water below us. At this point I didn’t care so much about why there was no electricity, but was worried about the impending pitch-black streets, and the eventual tiring of Ani. Though I’m not in good shape, with no heavy pack on I can pretty much hike an unlimited distance.
The base of the bridge, looked like a huge rally. People were everywhere. No cars could go by because people were in the streets. We decided to avoid the super crowded Queens Boulevard Bridge and go the back way which appeared to be much less crowded. This sidetrack really got to Ani bad. She was getting real sluggish. I had just walked nearly 50 city blocks across town and the a mile over the bridge, I could see we needed a 39 bus in the worst way.
It was almost 7 o’clock, I figured we had less than 90 minutes of sun left. We started walking the route of the 39 bus. Ani couldn’t take it anymore. She plopped down on a grassy knoll, on 48th Ave. I called Mike to see if he could pick us up. Maria called us at this time. She offered to take us in. But I told her Mike was already on the way, but if there was any problem with him, we’d be heading right over.
A miracle arose as a 39 bus turned the corner. I called Mike and told him to hold on, there might be a bus. Ani and I got a second wind and ran towards the bus stop. Only for the driver to stop back were she was sitting. We got on the bus, I tell mike to head back home, since we’d be at our place in no time at all. By 7:48 we were getting into the house. I got a flashlight from my trunk. The stairs were so dark it was creepy. I set up candles, in the bathroom, kitchen and living room, the living room was very bright. Ani and I took well deserved showers, she soon fell asleep and I stayed up to listen to the radio and write.
About 11, I went outside to my car, and it was so freaky dark outside. But the night is a cool one. So it wasn’t so bad.
Epilogue