Just today, It’s Monday the first day in February in the year 2021, I read a fellow blogger’s Blog. She started her blog by writing the following. My blogger friends, do you find you often blog in your mind, but never quite get it to the keyboard state?

Well, let me tell you, I do this all the time. Earlier today my wife finished a quilt and I had the task of taking that quilt to the women who will put it on a Long Arm and finish it for her. We have no Long Arm but we do have a Quilting frame. The Mrs. has made many a quilt on that frame over the years.

I recently saw a Bernina Long Arm machine listed for $20,499.00. Our quilting frame purchased over 20 years ago was $360.00.

Rambling thoughts herein lie. Just wanted to impart a bit of the wonderful work my wife does and the machines that can finish those works of art off.

So, I’m driving on the Bypass with this quilt, it’s cold outside, more snow on the way. What, you had snow you ask. Yes, here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland we got several inches yesterday. The first measurable snow in 706 days. It is reported that we shall get more tonight. I should write about that I thought. I’ll start with ‘HEADLINE, NO SNOW IN 706 DAYS.” That will attract an audience I think to myself.

I’m listening to the radio, Oldies channel, https://kool1043.com if your ever traveling in or around Salisbury, MD and enjoy the oldies. They give you little tidbits such as: This Day in Music History – 1962 – Warner Bros. Records signed Peter, Paul & Mary. 1966 – The Bobby Fuller Four’s “I Fought The Law” was released. 1969 – The “Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour” debuted on CBS-TV. 1972 – David Bowie performed as “Ziggy Stardust” for the first time. 1972 – Smokey Robinson left The Miracles. 1979 – Emerson, Lake […] etc. I’m sure you get the point so I’ll get back to my point. I was putting out a Blog in my head.

On November 9, 1965 the United States had a Black Out affecting all of the state of New York and parts of seven neighboring states. chaos prevailed, 800,000 people were stranded in the NY subways. Thousands more were stuck in elevators and trains. Just setting the scene here folks.

This writer was a young Marine Sergeant assigned at the time to USNAD Earle, NJ, a Naval ammunition Depot. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Weapons_Station_Earle

I’m in the Guard Bunker at that facility, I have fellow Marines under my command out on posts, some fixed, some mobile, some in vehicles on roaming patrols. One fixed post on that November evening held a Marine in a Tower overlooking all the bunkers under our watchful eyes that held some powerful ordinance.

I have the radio on, “You’ve got that Loving Feeling,” by the Righteous Brothers is playing and the young Marine in that tower radio’s down to me, “Hey Sarge, NY City has disappeared. Yep, here I am driving the bypass 02/01/21 and I’m back in the moment. It was then that I said, I’ve got to write that in a Blog. Thanks Chrissie, you’ve inspired me.

Then, at precisely 5:21 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, everything went black.
It was Nov. 9, 1965. And suddenly, from Pennsylvania to southern Canada, through parts of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and northern New England, right up into Ontario, more than 30 million North Americans were without power.
It was the Great Northeast Blackout.
Many people were swept up with the fear that the Russians had attacked and the U.S. was in the throes of World War III. Others felt it was a realistic version of the classic “War of the Worlds,” with alien beings to blame for the widespread power outage upon their arrival on earth.

The hubbub was caused, ironically enough, by a faulty relay estimated by one source as “probably a two-dollar piece of machinery” at the mammoth Niagara-Mohawk Power Plant in upstate New York. Such a minute wrinkle made it sound all the more like H.G. Wells’ fictional “War,” an example of the tiniest of things creating the biggest nuisance.

The Gardner News of Maine reported the outage this way.

In New York City, some 800,000 people were stranded in underground subways, while thousands more were trapped for the duration in elevators. Johnny Carson, in his “Tonight Show” monologue, quipped that in nine months, all over the East Coast, mothers would be giving birth and wistfully naming their sons Otis.
For the record, during the week of Aug. 9-15 of 1966 – nine months later – a total of 14 births were registered at Henry Heywood Memorial Hospital.

While many areas – including New York City – were without power for several days, the Greater Gardner area experienced a grand total of two hours and 57 minutes in the dark.

As the blackout hit, emergency generators were pressed into action and continued well past the hour when all power was restored to the area. As the lights went out, on came the candles, kerosene lamps and flashlights.

The very next day would be the 190’th Birthday of the Marine Corps.
https://www.marines.com/about-the-marine-corps/who-are-the-marines/history.html

Blogging is a great way to pass time during this the Covid Pandemic, there’s plenty of space between me and my readers. Now I’ve written that Blog I thought about and I’ve shared with you a moment in time during the life of The Rooster. Be safe my friends. Oh yes, thanks Chrissie for giving me the impetus to write this. Fall softly, save those knees. It only took me 11 more days to get this out. By the way, when we awoke this morning, 4 inches of snow.

SEMPER FI