The Bloody Doors Off

So the past 36 hours has been hell on this city, and for 24 of them, it’s preyed on my psyche.

You ever watch post-apocalyptic thrillers and wonder how you’d do in that scenario? I’d crumple. Too reliant on electronics for one. I did have a huge-ass lantern I bought back in the summer, and plenty of tea candles. And for some interesting reason I can’t explain, the gas heater in the living room continued to work. But I had no other real ’emergency’ supplies, no patience to sit still, and not enough bravery to face it for the first couple of hours.

I did think back to the last time Toronto had a blackout. That was an August date and much warmer. And I couldn’t wait to go out and ride in the darkness, to explore a city by torch light and look at the stars. I traveled from University and Dundas to Yonge and Finch that time. It was awesome and haunting. I had to use that memory to get myself out the door. So I bundled up and prepared to meet the city in the dark.

Which went on for a block and a half. So weird. A lot of the neighbourhood had power. I went down to Queen and Coxwell, got a bite to eat and charged my phone, and then up to Greenwood and Danforth for a coffee.

I spent the night trying to sleep (emphasis on trying, without my CPAP I was constantly waking up) and couldn’t sleep on the couch where it was warm. In the morning I had a diet coke and plain bagel. My brother Kevin called and he had power. He picked me up and I took the electronics up to his condo and recharged everything while I napped on his couch. He, my dad and I spent the rest of the afternoon watching soccer before we dropped off my dad (despite our protests as he still doesn’t have power) and we got food.

This is when I saw the extent, and the randomness, of the ice storm. Gridlock everywhere. You could go blocks with power and then be in complete darkness. Sometimes buildings would have power but no streetlights or traffic lights, or vice versa. And the coating of ice on everything was astounding.

I am thankful for having power tonight. I’m thankful for the men and women putting in the time and effort to fix this for everyone else. I am embarrassed our Mayor won’t declare a state of emergency in order to expedite the process. But most of all, I hope this problem gets rectified sooner rather than later.