The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry, the age old adage says. And so it was while I was furiously cranking out copy as this week’s Reporter deadline loomed just hours away.

The topic planned for this space got ditched in a heartbeat as more immediate matters came to the forefront.

Chained to the keyboard, I had barely started a writing a short piece on current local news when an ominous boom sounded out on the street. The computer screen immediately went dark, the desk lamp blinked off, and a litany of curse words exploded from my mouth.

Really, CFE? A power failure on a Thursday? Rats, and double rats! I need this like another hole in the head.

There was enough of battery charge on my laptop to keep me plugging away for a few more hours, but the Internet connection was broken. No way to send off finished material to my editor.

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