An interesting shopping trip

I went to Micheal's yesterday because I had a coupon and to look for a couple of specific items.  I didn't find one of the items, but not surprisingly, I came home with some other stuff.  While I was waiting in line to pay, the power went off.  I and others in the store waited maybe 5 minutes before deciding to leave.  Someone had come in to say that power was off at all stores in the plaza.  We put all our potential purchases in basket, put our names on a slip of paper and said we would be back.  I drove south on route 1 and discovered that the outage only covered a few blocks.  I had some other errands to run, so drove off to do them.  When I came back, the stores in the mall looked dark, but I pulled into the parking lot to take a closer look.  At that moment, the light came back on!  Talk about good timing!  Unfortunately, the computers were not yet up, but I wandered around the store and, of course, found a few more items to buy. (The coupon covered all purchases for that day.)    Soon the computers were up and running, so I paid and left.  Went down to the other end of the plaza to Lowe's and found a real bargain on zinnias - greatly reduced, but still looking in good shape.  When I took them inside, I discovered that their computers were not yet up, so we had to pay with cash.  This was no problem for me, but the store personnel had to find a certain number on each item so that they could record the sale and give out paper receipts.  Mine took a long time to identify, because the clerk had to go outside where the plants were to get the number.  Luckily, I was not in any hurry.  I did get my plants and came home, being thankful that in our neighborhood power was ON.

This experience brought home to me just how dependent we are upon our 'machines'.  Without computers, the stores could not do credit card sales; could not look up prices; and could barely function.  There should be backup plans, i.e., information on paper, in books, so that stores can still operate when the computers are out of order.  Now, I'm looking around my house, seeing how many things depend upon electricity:  A/C, heating system, fans, radio, computer, lights, microwave, stove, refrigerator, some clocks, washer and dryer, hot water heater.  I've probably missed a few.  I sure would hate to do without all those things, especially the heat/cooling system.  Luckily most of my power failures are short-lived.  (The lines in our development are underground, but they do connect to above ground lines somewhere).  It gives one pause for thought, doesn't it?


These two photos show the monstrous coleus I bought earlier  this spring.  I thought they were just ordinary plants.  They weren't very big.  However, they have grown and grown!  I realize now that they were the super-sized kind which I first discovered last year.  They are bullies that take over a pot and crowd out all the other plants.  They sure are beautiful, however, so I'll just give them more room to grow and enjoy the gigantic results.