Jackson Family In the Dark ... Again

When Karen Jackson heard Chatham residents would be without power until Thursday, she thought, "Oh no, not again."

Jackson, along with her husband Steve and youngest son Montana, 17, were among the last Chatham residents to get their power restored after Hurricane Irene. Now they are without power once more after an early October snowfall left .

"Maybe we'll be a priority [because of our proximity to ] and get power back sooner rather than later," Steve said.

Karen seemed less optimistic, especially after the home was without power until Sept. 2 after Hurricane Irene. "It was spottier during the hurricane, but now I think it's pretty blanketed. ... We're on this little street," she said of her Floral Street residence. "We're the last ones to come back up."

Before Irene hit and unrelated to the forecast, Karen purchased a tether to link internet from her mobile phone to her netbook. They were able to watch the Buffalo Bills game Saturday on the netbook, and they used a few battery packs to keep things running for as long as they could. But, they admit, that wasn't very long.

A tree fell in their yard Saturday night, snapped in two. "When it started yesterday, I said to Steve, 'This is bad.' Nothing is worse than an October snowstorm," Karen said.

"It just turns the trees into umbrellas," Steve added. "The snow and everything sits on top of the leaves until [the tree] falls. All night long we just heard boom, boom."

When they woke up Sunday for their first full day without power, Karen and Steve cleaned their yard, cleared the storm drains on their property and some pavement in the driveway. Then they went to check on Montana, who is a junior firefighter with the , and went in search of gas for their car. They looked throughout the township, in New Providence and Berkeley Heights before they were finally able to find an open gas station.

"Steve asked me if I wanted to go out for coffee and I said, 'I'd love to. Where can we go?'" Karen said.

The family spent Sunday evening in their living room with their family pets, a ferret named Jacques and two sugar gliders, which Karen calls "not the world's best impulse buy," and planning where they would go to recharge their electronic devices on Monday. They eventually settled on a friend's house in Short Hills who has power

"We do have gas, so cooking isn't a problem," Karen said, but the house's heat has an electronic control system and ventilation. They dressed in warm pullovers and drank wine by firelight, and alternated between looking at the bright side and cataloguing all that they were not able to get done because of the power outage.

"During the hurricane, I was going to Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts to do PTO stuff," Karen said. She is now in her second year as president of the Chatham High School PTO. This week she's thinking of all she needs to get done before a fundraiser for her church, the Unitarian Church in Summit, on Saturday, Nov. 5. "Today was supposed to be our big ticket push," Karen said.

The fundraiser is a live and silent auction, which requires lists of donors, guests and gifts. "Everything is on my desktop computer, and it's so frustrating because I can't get to it," she said.

On the other hand, there is one benefit to the power outage. "I'm taking Irish flute lessons," Karen said. "It's a nice, low-tech thing. I've been practicing a lot the last two days."