[Molly Pitcher]

Thanks MozartLover. I got it and will answer tomorrow.

(Feeling better, too) Hugs to you!

At church tonite we talked to friends whose children live in Fredericksburg. They were without power for "only" 24 hours.

What I don't understand in the Chair's note is the reference to tv...are some tvs battery-powered?

If he has a generator, why the reference to candlelight??

Admitting stupidity/denseness here...

[MozartLover]

I'm guessing that the generator is used for "necessary" things (like television:) but not for other things, so as to save the batteries.

[Iowa Granny]

If the Chair has a freezer and a refrigerator plugged into a generator, there may not be enough power to light the house and the TV, too.

I killed out big generator heating water in the microwave in '98. Somebody told me later it takes a lot of juice to produce heat, so the blow dryer for my hair, the toaster, and items of that nature draw a lot of power when activated. I honestly don't know if this is factual, but the information made an impression on me when I was told, and I've never forgotten it.

[kayak]

I know there are some battery-powered TVs. We have a very small one .... something like a 5" screen. Ours is black and white but I think you can also get them both larger and that receive color.

The batteries to run the thing cost more than the tv ... and, of course, it won't hook up to cable. But if the power is out because of severe weather, the local stations will have coverage and we can pick them up.

It may be that he is using the generator for things like the refrigerator and not wasting the energy on lights when candles will suffice. We don't have a generator so I don't know much about them except that they don't run the whole house (unless you have a HUGE one) and they're noisy.