My husband knows I can tolerate the lack of electricity and even no running water as long as I can stay connected. It is important for my real estate business.  As a result, I was well prepared when Irene paid a visit and I managed to provide updates on my  Ledyard Facebook Page and the Ledyard Gales Ferry Community Forum throughout the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene.

It was really pretty simple. We have a 1,500 watt inverter connected to two deep cycle  batteries that I used with my iPad and a Verizon Wifi card. We ran our 1986 generator periodically and kept those batteries charged throughout our outage, which lasted for 5 full days.  I called it “Communications Central.” Of course, if Verizon had gone down so would have I, but I never had a glitch with that connection or my AT&T iPhone.

Although I was the facilitator, it was my Ledyard Facebook friends and local business owners who provided most of the updates. We shared articles from Bill Thorndike, our editor at Ledyard Patch, and together we were able to follow CL&P’s progress, share which local businesses were open, where to find water, and which roads were blocked. One resident said her power was restored after she offered to marry the CL&P lineman, so we had a few laughs as well. We cheered together when Groton Utilities came to town like Knights in Shining Armor.

Several people from out of town made comments that they were sharing the information with family in Ledyard who could not connect. Neighbors with the ability to connect were sharing with neighbors that couldn’t. Importantly, there were more than a few random online acts of kindness!

I did lose everything in my refrigerator, there wasn't much real estate happening, but I managed to stay connected and make some great new friends in the process. I hope it doesn’t happen again soon,  but if it does "Communications Central" remains ready, willing, and able.