Hi. I Survived the Blackout of 2003. It's true. Thursday night I decided to drive down to Brooklyn anyway, to stick with my original plan. It took me a while to decide to do it, so I didn't end up leaving until around 9:15. I called my dog-sitter and told her I was coming by to drop off the dog. She was incredulous. "I think you're crazy. You know there are no lights, right? There will be no lights on the roads!" I told her I was doing it, I'd thought it through, I'd be on highways the entire time, and it would be fine.

And it was fine. I didn't hit any traffic, though there were plenty of cars on the road. For the first half of the drive the electricity seemed to be on except for a few random pockets. But then there was a long stretch with dead streetlights and dark houses. It was a little creepy. By the time I hit the Bronx there were hardly any lights that I could see. At one point the houses on one side of the highway were lit, and the other side was dark. There was also no power at all on the Triboro Bridge - except at the toll booth, where they collected my $4.00.

Once I got onto the BQE I could really see the lack of power. The dark silhouettes of row houses and projects and apartment buildings were set against a slightly lighter sky; though it was 11:00 or later, there was still some residual light (from New Jersey?) reflected in the humid atmosphere. I'd look to the side and get a quick glimpse down a side street of a line of glowing red taillights in a pitch-black canyon. The Manhattan skyline was mostly dark but scattered buildings were lit by back-up power.

I turned off the highway onto Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn. This is where it got tricky. All of the power was out here, and every block had a dead traffic light. The first few had a police officer trying to direct everyone, but it was incredibly dark, and the other cars blocked my view so I couldn't ever see the officer until I was almost right at them. They were hard to see even with their reflective vests and white gloves; and even when I could see them it was hard to tell if the "keep going" arm circle motion was meant for me or the other guy. I managed to not run anyone over.

After the first few intersections there weren't any officers, and no one on Atlantic was following the four-way-stop rule. The consensus seemed to have been that we were on the busier road, and therefore had the right of way.

I got a really nice parking spot, turned off my car and got out, and it was pitch black and completely quiet. I could hear a couple of people murmuring on a nearby stoop, and a few windows had candlelight. I had brought a flashlight, and I used my phone to get my sister to let me in (the buzzer didn't work, of course). She had walked home - it took four hours, and did I mention she's pregnant? - from mid-town, and had been trying to sleep. (She has a more interesting story than I do; she can't type so I might try to transcribe it for her.) Both she and her husband were awake; it was just too hot and still to sleep, plus there were sirens blaring past the building every couple of minutes, sounding extra loud due to the lack of electrical white noise. I was totally psyched and energized and I talked them into going for a walk.

It was well past midnight but there were still some people sitting out on their stoops, where it was cooler. We walked down to this little, open, one-car garage that was used as a tiny private club. An impromptu band was playing by candlelight; a small drum kit and a bongo drum had been joined by a guitar, a clarinet, and, most impressively, an upright bass (he had simply dropped its case on the sidewalk). The instrumented people were doing an improv jazz thing and there was a small crowd watching. It was really great. We walked around some more, down streets usually made bright as day with neon and strreetlights, just soaking it all in, seeing the moon and the stars.

Sleeping was difficult. I had strange dreams and kept waking up. But at 4:30 a.m., everything whirred and clicked back to life, and we immediately awoke and said, "Yes! Thank god!" and I turned on a fan and went to sleep.