As noted by the posting of a “sympathetic friend,” my internet here at Potlatch was down for nearly two weeks due to Hurricane Ida. It fried the television in the kitchen, killed Alexa, my internet connection and its Apple wireless airport.
When hurricanes hit the gulf coast they take a northeast trajectory through the north Georgia mountains frequently resulting in wind damage, flooding and downed trees. A couple of years ago, a big red oak crashed through the car barn destroying the roof and severely damaging two cars. Mostly trees fall harmlessly in the woods, but every so often one hits a building or falls across a road. The loss of the internet and a television was inconvenient, but not terrible in the scheme of things.
Probably more aggravating was the herculean effort required to get the internet fixed. As many of you know, calling in repairs for the internet or TV can be a hair-pulling experience. After dialing an 800 number and going through many options, you finally get an actual person who asks endless questions requiring proof of identity through passwords, account numbers, the last four digits of your social security number and a promise to pay for just about everything that might ensue. You are also walked through all the normal trouble-shooting efforts that you have already done. And, if that is not enough, the person on the phone is often difficult to understand, prompting a frequent “huh” or “what did you say” on your part.
This time, the representative promised that a new modem would be mailed overnight and if I just plugged it in that might fix the problem. It never arrived. Fortunately, a technician did arrive several days later and fixed the problem by checking all the connections, crawling under the cabin to replace wires and installing a new modem. Hurray!
At any rate, I’m back online and look forward to adding my two-cents worth in the coming days.