People Power

So where were you when the lights went out in San Diego last night? I was in my condo highrise in the Marina District when power went out and, like I've done countless times before here, waited for it to return in a few moments. A quick check on the internet on my cell phone indicated the sheer magnitude of the loss of power. Millions affected! May go through Friday evening! The horror! Well, it brought back my childhood to me in that I always remembered those power outage days as some of the most boring of my life- you can't go out, can't have friends over and what's there to do? So, as I watched traffic starting to snarl around Pacific Highway and Kettner Boulevard, my first thought was, shame on me, where can I watch the NFL opener? When I realized that reataurants and supermarkets were actually closing and that my cupboards were bare, admittedly some bits of panic do set in. Oh well, maybe a good fast will help cleanse my system. I couldn't contain my curiousity; I had to venture out somewhere, anywhere. I had to be around people just to see reactions and perhaps learn more about the outage. One thing I found utterly amazing was the courtesy shown by the drivers stuck in mile long traffic in the Marina District- NO HONKING HORNS! I applaud you. Thank God also for the Manchester Hyatt- you always know that hotels will be open. Well, the Hyatt not only was serving drinks and food, but their generator actually allowed it to show the Saints/Packers game. Since most of the people there were out-of-towners, it was neat to hear how much they enjoy our city and neighborhood- even in a power outage. It turned out to be one of my best nights here in San Diego.