I was sitting around the Crosby family compound in mid-August when the power went out. Power outages are always disruptive—you never realize how many clocks you own until you have to reset them—but they are particularly distressing when it’s summer in Texas. As each minute without air conditioning passes, the level of fear and anxiety rises. Immediately, a sort of survival mentality kicks in and potential alternatives are evaluated. Calls are made to family and friends to develop a potential exit strategy. “See if the power is on at your mother’s.” If that doesn’t work, “Maybe we should go to a hotel?”
It’s a tense time for all involved, and soon things can take on an every man for himself mentality. My neighbor’s kids once got into a fistfight to determine who would be first to fan himself at the refrigerator. But on this sultry summer evening I was ready. After a brief disruption in the ballgame I was watching, the generator I had purchased kicked in. I made the kids reset the clocks, and all was back to normal in the family home.