explosion!

have you ever seen a movie where the characters are somehow awakened by a blast? taken to some other realm or abducted by aliens? and you wonder, how in the world did they get up so fast?

i never thought it was truthful that people could move that fast because of a flash of light, or a boom. seriously, whose brain works like that? i just figured that if i was to get abducted by aliens, i'd sleep through the whole thing.

i sleep like a rock.
i've slept through parties. wild, crazy parties.
and i've slept in houses with colmados attached to them. (colmados are corner stores. they frequently double as the local night club)

a few weeks ago, my life changed.
i know now that i will not sleep through alien abduction.

we were awoken at 4:30am by a loud explosion, accompanied by a blinding flash of light. (amely woke up, samil, however, inherited my rock sleeping skills). amalio and i were up in milliseconds, checking on the kids and trying to figure out what in the world was going on.

the answer?

just outside of our back wall, a transformer exploded. EXPLODED. at 4:30 am.
the pole was on fire - blazing away - and had been severed.
we didn't know what to do. call the fire station? we don't have the number. call the electric company? yes!

at 5:15, i found the number for the electric company and called the 24 hour help line. the conversation went a little like this:

"i'd like to make a report."
"go ahead."
"a transformer exploded outside of our house, and the pole is on fire."
"oh, yes, we've gotten that report already."
"and?"
"oh, well, our technicians don't begin work until 6am."

logically, the firemen (because, yes, they are all men) couldn't put out the fire unless the electric company turned off the electricity. that didn't happen because even though there is a 24 hour help line, there isn't 24 hour help. the pole continued to burn and started to tilt toward our backyard. luckily, when it finally snapped it slid backwards and ended up resting on the rest of the wires (with the flames safely away from homes and wires).

the fire company arrived at 6:05, just minutes before those technicians who don't start until 6. they promptly put off the fire and by the time i got home from work at noon, a new pole had been erected (at least 15 feet higher than the last - presumably to aid in the efforts to prevent electricity theft).

there is never a dull moment in these parts.

these firemen (kids? boys?) continue to amaze me - they make
less than $200 USD a month and put their lives at risk to save others.
they make LESS than DR minimum wage. insane, right?