At about 1:00am I woke up to the sound of my neighbors talking on their porch. They are usually pretty quiet, so the shouts of "¡Oye! We need you!" were out of character. I threw on a shirt and headed outside.

An FPL truck was stopped in the street in front of their house. The woman next door was chatting with the driver, who was explaining that we wouldn't be getting our power back until Thursday at the earliest. She pointed out that her father is diabetic and takes insulin, which needs to be kept cool. Each day she needs to go to the FEMA station to pick up another bag of ice, often requiring a significant wait in line.

The FPL driver was sympathetic, but told her that most of the crews were being redirected up to Broward County to increase the company's "percentage restored" statistics for the daily press release. He suggested that her best course of action would be to call the customer service line and explain her situation, and hope for an understanding operator.

Well, I guess she was successful. (I confess, she's a very persuasive young woman.) This morning I noticed another truck on the street, and when I walked out a fellow in a hard hat told me I should have power by late tonight.

This is sadly humorous timing, as I am writing this while in a van on my way to Orlando for a business conference. With luck my friends will report the return of power later today, and I'll be able to look forward to air conditioning on my return home.