By Juan C. Ayllon The severe weather warnings were ominous: threats of severe storms bearing winds up to 100 miles per hour were racing towards Chicago and, moreover, out west in Iowa, some cars were flipped over on I-30. At the time, Belle, our Goldendoodle, Liam and I were watching an HD movie in the basement when our cell phones alerted us to a tornado warning for our area until 5:45 PM. Moments later, our power went out. Peaking through the blinders at the back of the room, we saw tree branches whipping in the strong wind. Unplugging my amplifier, preamp, and power conditioners from the wall, we ducked into a storage room with several candles. Eventually, we emerged back into our darkened family room, ready to slip back into storage should the storm turn violent again. Sitting in the dark for roughly an hour and a half, it felt eery. One moment, we. were enveloped in high quality theater sound and the next, we sat in silence and listened to distant thunder, whipping winds and rain spattering on windows. I hugged Belle and said a prayer with her. I petted Liam, whose head was pressed low to the area rug at Belle's feet., then played with him for a few minutes to cheer him up. As time ticked on, we reached out to family and friends via our cells. Someone posted photos of a nearby power transformer on fire on Facebook and encouraged us to stay safe. We received other encouraging messages, videos, and family photos from others. I notified Commonwealth Edison about our power outage and continued monitoring the weather which had died down.
Eventually, the warning expired, dark clouds gave way to sunny skies, and at about 5:50 PM our power returned. Plugging back in, we resumed our movie. All was good again. However, in those long dark moments, it was nice to know that we had each other, the care and comfort of others yet, and above it all, a quiet conviction that a heavenly Father was watching over us. For all the fun and entertainment value that music and audio brings us, it's always good to be mindful of these comforting connections.
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Juan C. AyllonA writer, artist, educator and owner of Prairie Audio Man Cave, he lives with his wife, Isabel (AKA Belle), and their Goldendoodle, Liam, enjoys listening to high fidelity music and all things hi-fi at their home in the greater Chicagoland area.. Archives
March 2024
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