Jun. 13, 2003 ~ Friday the Thirteenth
was just one of those days. Lightning got us... struck not far from where I lay sleeping. It did some damage, but it can all be fixed. College Boy was sitting at his computer when the surge came through the phone lines and zapped his computer. He was sitting right there using it, and did not get hurt. He saw an awfully bright white light, though. Husband and I woke up, hearts racing, hair standing up all over our bodies. I was tingling, and couldn't stop shaking.
We have two phone lines. One got zapped; the other was only slightly injured. Oddly enough, on one line, I could use a phone, but the modem wouldn't work. I figured the modem must have gotten fried. But the diagnostics on the computer said otherwise. Tech support guy said the modem worked, too. Huh. Talked to my local phone company... no, their ISP seemed to be fine. Called the ISP tech support... no, all was well there, too. It HAD to be the modem, he said. Couldn't be anything else, he said. If I opened up the computer, he said I would even see the charred, blackened area where the phone line entered the box. Hmmmm. I wasn't about to open the computer, but I did think of one more thing to try. I dug up another phone cord and plugged it into the wall, then the computer. It worked!
About that time the phone company repairman arrived and went to work on the phone problem. It was so weird. The phone in the barn worked, but not the ones in the house. The phone guy tried to explain why that was, and he showed me the burned box which had been right outside my window. He replaced the box and all the phones worked again. Whew! We didn't carry coverage on the inside wiring, so had it been affected, we would have had to pay a hefty repair bill. I decided to spring for the coverage. Two bucks a month covers both lines. I figure we can afford it.
Son's computer is probably a total loss. We spent the day trying to recover files from his hard drive, but that looks like a lost cause. He's in mourning. Tomorrow he will take his computer to the store where he bought it. It will be shipped off, probably never to return. They've already looked at it and said it probably can't be fixed, so it will most likely be replaced.
The evening ended on a sad note. A visit to the funeral home, to pay my respects to the family of a young man I never met. I'm acquainted with his father and sister, and his aunt is a good friend. His passing was quite unexpected. Dad and Sister seemed to be in shock. Smiling wooden smiles, saying all the right things... I think it hasn't sunk in yet. Aunt talked a lot, needed to talk, and I was glad to listen.
Somebody's cows (and bull) are out; I saw them on my way home. A neighbor had already called to ask if they were ours, so I knew to watch for them. Good thing, or I might have hit one. Husband closed and chained the front gate (which we only do in cases like this, otherwise it stays open), in hopes that the stray cows wouldn't come trample our garden. We hope the stray bull doesn't want to fight our bull, and tear up the fence.
I intended to do so many things today, and not one of them got done. Not a one. Some days are just like that, I guess. Tomorrow will be better. I'm sure of it.
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