Looking back at a week that was like no other during a year like no other
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Big Ten Conference and the Pacific-12 Conference both took the unprecedented step last week by cancelling the fall football season due to concerns about the Coronavirus, and that would’ve normally been the top story for any week by a long shot.
But this past week was far from normal as a storm that I didn’t even know existed called a derecho tore a path of destruction through our state last Monday afternoon, leaving thousands without access to electricity, hot food, batteries and cell phone service, and some without a place to live.
This derecho, which is described as an inland hurricane, seemed to come out of nowhere as it quickly gained strength in the Dakotas before unleashing its Hurricane-like power in Iowa, with Cedar Rapids at the center of its rage.
Iowa’s second largest city may never look the same due to the jaw-dropping destruction caused by winds that were equal to a category 2 hurricane.
The stories about trees being ripped from the earth and tossed around like over-sized toothpicks in the wind are scary and sobering.
Thousands of people from Cedar Rapids still are without power nearly a week later, and many face massive and expensive rebuilding projects.
For some, life never will be like it was before noon this past Monday.
It was easy to forget after the storm hit that we’re still battling against a highly contagious virus that continues to change our lives in stunning fashion.
A fall without Iowa football was hard to even imagine before the virus surfaced.
News about the virus has dominated our lives since March, but now the derecho, and its horrible aftermath, will also forever be a part of the 2020 nightmare.
I consider myself one of the lucky ones because my house on the east side of Iowa City, and my three big trees, were spared by the storm.
My patience was tested from being without power for nearly six days, but that is a small price to pay compared to those whose lives have been forever changed by the storm.
It seemed strange that only one side of my street lost power for nearly six days, but I have since learned a little bit about how neighborhoods are hooked up from an electrical standpoint, and it was more a case of being unlucky than strange.
I leaned on my neighbors for support, and learned to cope and function in the darkness, with help from a few candles, and from a nifty light that my next-door neighbor let me borrow.
I lived on fast food, soup from Panera, and even grilled out twice in the darkness.
Mid-American Energy announced this past Thursday that a majority of Iowa City residents would have their power restored by late Thursday evening, and I made the mistake of assuming that I was part of the majority.
But then Thursday evening came and went without the power being restored, as did Friday and a big chunk of Saturday.
The light at the end of the tunnel finally started to flicker on Saturday, however, as three workers from Mid-American Energy showed up with some heavy equipment.
They started working early in the morning as part of a 16-hour shift and promised to have the power restored on my half of the block at some point on Saturday.
I watched as two of the workers removed the damaged utility pole and replaced it with another. They also replaced the transformer, while the third worker focused mostly on hooking the power lines back up.
A neighbor and I made small talk with the workers and learned that all three were from Sioux City.
We eventually started talking about college football, and one of the workers took offense when I mentioned something about the Nebraska football program.
I figured since they were from Sioux City that Nebraska football might be of interest to them, but one of the workers said he couldn’t believe that I would even mention Nebraska football.
“I’m a Hawkeye,” he said proudly. “We don’t talk about Nebraska.”
Hearing that made me laugh at a time when laughter had been few and far between.
Just having the three workers present in the neighborhood provided a huge boost to our spirits, because to the people on my side of the block, they were like front-line workers, and we knew the worst was almost over.
It also helped that they were nice guys, and that they sympathized with our situation.
They were shocked by the amount of damage, saying it was worse than the hurricane on the east coast from which they had just returned.
At approximately 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, the three workers drove by my house to say the power would be restored within 30 minutes.
And it was, much to our joy and relief.
The misery was over, at least for the people on my side of the street.
My thoughts and prayers are now with the people whose lives still are disrupted by the storm’s aftermath.
To the people in Cedar Rapids, stay safe and strong and know that help is on the way, and that darkness will be replaced by light, hopefully, sooner than later.
If there is one positive to take from any natural disaster, it’s being reminded that the good in us far outweighs the bad.