The Great Blackout of 2003 in the US and Canada

For those who found themselves on this date ten years ago located within any swath of North America ranging from Detroit to Toronto to Manhattan, here's an oft-evocative writing prompt: "How did you respond to the Great Blackout of 2003?"

I've already gotten more than 100 responses so far, forming a mosaic of tales tall and short, muted and loud. The folks trapped in an elevator when the power failed. The heat. The food sizzling on grills in backyards and alleyways. The mad dashes from place to place grand and small. Generators. Boozing. Car radios. Dancing in the streets. Bartering by flashlight. All of it and more! How about you? 

Of course, some folks ain't never even done heard of nothing like such a thing. But there ya go, that's the way of the world and all the people in it. Go ask them that's stuck in Cairo or Aleppo on this date today, in the year 2013. Or in the parlance of our day:

***What?***

Today's Rune: Journey.