THE WINDS HUFFED AND THE WINDS PUFFED. . . .

Sunday was the day we felt the effects of Hurricane Ike in the Ohio River Valley in general and in the Louisville Metro/Elizabethtown areas in particular. The wind began to blow fairly hard while we were sitting in Sunday School class. The windows in the building were sucking in and out and the shrubbery was rasping and scratching against the building at a fairly decent clip. By the time we were on the way home from church (about 12:15) there were already scattered branches strewn along the roads and the power had flickered several times. At 1:00pm the wind had really begun to howl and we lost power completely at 1:16pm. The power remained off until nearly 7:00pm.

No sweat. We just hunkered down in the house and made the most of the adventure. We were unaware (until we broke out the weather radio) that by that time, an estimated 280,000 utility customers had lost power. We learned today that the number of customers in Kentucky who lost power is actually over 500,000. We in Elizabethtown are among the fortunate few who have had our power restored. Many of the remaining people who are languishing in the flickering light of candles and flashlights will not have power completely restored for another ten days to two weeks. Our patio furniture was blown hither and yon. . .our stainless steel grill was blown around like a cardboard box and the chain that had secured it to the base of the air-conditioning unit jerked the air-conditioner clear across the patio. We had grilled some steaks and brats right after church. . . in retrospect, probably a dumb idea. I turned off the gas and checked to make sure the grease in the drip-pan was not on fire. . .it wasn't. . but something was. However, I didn't notice it. The gusting winds not only blew the grill across the patio, but fanned some flames that remained from the grease drippings on the underside of the grill as well. Some of the wiring and plastic knobs and guarding caught fire. Our neighbors noticed it and banged on our back door to alert us to the fire. The grill is badly damaged but it could have been much worse. The wind had pushed the grill up tight against the back of the house. Coulda been MUCH worse. Put out the fire, gathered up the patio swing and cushions, re-attached the air-conditioner to the base unit and pretty much felt like an idiot the remainder of the night and today. More on that grill-fire episode (including photos) later.