OUTRAGE & OUTAGE

I heard a loud explosion outside! This was a sound I knew too well. I always hear it right before a hurricane strikes! My electricity suddenly went out, but there was no hurricane. A transformer had blown a fuse. This was 12:30 PM less than a week ago.  I was just getting ready to fix lunch. Now I dared not open my refrigerator or freezer for obvious reasons.

Rain started pouring down in pitchforks. I grabbed the newspaper & mail and headed upstairs to read. I noticed the 24 hour light one house over was still on. I checked the home on the opposite side and theirs was on too!

The house right next door on my south side is on my same grid, but those people are in New England. So I was the only person in this neighborhood affected by the outage. I thought surely an FPL truck would soon be here.

FPL has a box in the back to alert them of outages, but after several hours of no response I wondered if it was malfunctioning. After all this wasn't the aftermath of a storm with 20,000 or more people ahead of me.

My landlines were all dead and I don't own a cell. (Ninety-nine per cent of the time I don't need one!) Landlines used to function after a power outage but no more. After the rain stopped I grabbed an old paper FPL bill with my account number and headed out in search of a neighbor's phone.

Now I have a certain reputation in this hood. Due to the fact I hate Donald Trump and am not a church attendee I'm considered an anarchist and a hell-bound pagan and probably much worse!

The neighbor kitty-corner from me was in his yard. I hollered out! He heard the explosion and agreed to call FPL. They stated they were aware of it, but still wanted me to report it and asked for the last 4 digits of my S.S. number which I didn't have!

After much frustration, finally they told us my power would be restored by 5:00 PM. (They lied!) I returned to my sweat-box of a house. This may be October but here in Florida it's still as hot, sticky & humid as it was in August. I really could have used an ice cold drink until my A.C. was back.

I had not eaten since 6:30 that morning. I thought about fixing a meal but my only option was room-temperature soup, crackers, & tap water. I decided to wait until my power was restored unaware it would be a long time.

At 5:30 PM I set out again to use a neighbor phone. The man kitty-corner was now inside. I knew he was home because his car was there. I rang the bell several times and knocked. The dog inside was going crazy but no one answered. I figured he must be on the john.

Next door to him is an elderly couple I knew casually. I hated to bother them because they both have health issues. Plus the old geezer is a creep! He told me in private once that he & his wife have an agreement, he's allowed to cheat!  I've kept my distance ever since. But I was at my wit's end.  

They let me call. This time I got someone in INDIA! The guy had an accent and I had difficulty understanding him. Nothing else was working so I decided to play the age card. I told him I was a senior citizen and that if I suffered a stroke or heart attack as a result of this, I was going to sue them!

He claimed I was now a priority and FPL would be right out. (He lied!) I hurried home. Later I found myself sitting on the stairs in darkness still watching for an FPL truck that never came. Homes throughout the neighborhood were lit-up. I broke down and cried. Then I was furious! I ferreted out my 2 hurricane lamps & giant sized flashlight.

I headed out again. I went back to the place kitty-corner which was now lit like a roadhouse. The entire family must be home now. Again, I rang the bell and knocked. The dog inside was going crazy but no one came! Guess I was tantamount to a stray cat that had been fed and now wouldn't go away. Apparently they had been given heads up by the Dad and were ignoring me.

A car across the street from them was pulling in. I headed over and hollered out, "Do you have a cell phone?"

 "No M'am!" the guy quickly shouted back.

In my head, I was screaming LIAR! They own an expensive home and late model cars! Every person in that family probably has a smart phone with all the bells & whistles. Anyway, I moved on.

I returned to the elderly couple and was invited inside. FPL informed me that Customer Service was now closed and to phone back in the AM. Then a recording stated that my power would be restored by 9:00PM. (It lied!)

I walked back home and went to bed. I tried to sleep but the sheets felt sticky and uncomfortable under me in the heat. Every time I heard a truck go by outside I jumped out of bed hoping it was FPL. I was always left disappointed. I decided they weren't coming and eventually fell asleep.

Later I was awakened by their truck. Finally, my electricity was restored at 10:00 PM!

After re-setting all my clocks and getting both TV's up and working, I sat down to dinner at 10:30 PM. Hang the healthy diet, I wanted something quick! I popped a Stouffer's  Five Cheese Lasagna in the microwave while steeping a pot of cinnamon-spice tea. Then I cut a big piece of coconut cake from my garage freezer. After a day like that I deserved it!

I decided to let the dishes soak overnight. But I didn't feel like going back to bed. I watched TV until midnight. 

The following morning I was determined to give FPL hell!!! I hit the button that asked if I was a senior and found myself listening to commercials. I hung up and redialed not falling into that same trap. This time I sat thru menu after menu! When OTHER finally came up, I shouted, "Representative!" only to be told that option wasn't available.

Then I began hollering, "Supervisor, Live Person!" I began to wonder if a plague had struck the other end and everyone was slumped over a chair dead.

Eventually, I got a pleasant woman who seemed sympathetic. She admitted that FPL took its time in responding because I was just one person. -- I AM A PAYING CUSTOMER! THAT SHOULD HAVE MADE NO DIFFERENCE WHATSOEVER!!!

She suggested that I persuade FPL to expand my grid to more than 2 houses and gave me a phone number. Geez, the previous day everything I'd said to FPL had fallen on deaf ears! I'm going to try to enlist my neighbor in this. They will be back soon.

Shortly after, FPL emailed a survey to rate my experience. I gave them consistently low marks and I told them exactly why!