About a year ago, my wife, Julie, and I agreed that I would benefit from a power recliner. You know, the kind of recliner that makes it easier for an old guy to get out of the recliner.

I’m a large guy and it took us a while to find a power recliner of sufficient size and power to lift this old boy up to a near standing position. We finally found such a chair, ordered it and waited for it to be delivered and set up.

The delivery guys set it up, plugged it in and I was set. I have enjoyed the chair from the beginning.

On a different (but related, trust me) subject, we are fortunate to live in a part of the metro that has few power outages.

Around 12:30 p.m. on a recent weekday, our electric power went out. I was sitting in my electrically-powered power recliner in a reclined position watching YouTube videos on our television set. The TV screen went black, the audio went silent. My wife was on the couch reading a book.

As I tried to figure out what was happening I realized I was essentially trapped in my power recliner. Without electricity I could not return the chair to a position from which I could exit.

My feet were resting on the chair’s footrest, a good two feet above the floor. Being rather heavy I wasn’t comfortable sliding myself forward — if, in fact, I could do that — and putting all my weight on the footrest.

I considered attempting to slide myself forward and straddle the footrest but I wasn’t sure I could remain in a standing position if I could negotiate such a move.

I had no need to get out of the chair but once I believed I was unable to get out of the chair I was even more determined to get out of the chair!

Finally, I fell back into a reclining position. Julie suggested I just take it easy and perhaps take a nap while waiting for the electrical power to return. How can you sleep when you know you are trapped?

I did sit still for a few minutes contemplating alternatives to exiting the chair. Then I remembered I had a battery-powered multi-band radio in my office and asked my wife, who was not imprisoned on the couch, to retrieve it for me.

The power cord was dangling from the radio when my wife brought it to me. Remembering the batteries in the radio were weak, I asked my wife to plug it into the power outlet near my chair.

Julie is extremely patient with me but she gave me that look that wives give their husbands when they say something beyond stupid. Referring to plugging the radio into the electrical outlet, she inquired, “And how do you think that will help you?”

Oh crap! There was no power to be had from the outlet. I admitted my foolishness but she still had the audacity to laugh at me. The laughing continued far longer than necessary.

I tried to turn on the radio without household electrical power and discovered that the old batteries were not weak — they were dead.

Still imprisoned in my power recliner, I asked Julie to bring me some fresh batteries. I am a bit OCD and always keep a good supply of fresh batteries on hand.

I installed the new batteries, the radio turned on and I began to search for something equally as entertaining as the “Driving the Dalton Highway in Alaska” video I had been watching on TV before the power went out.

Fortunately, the power returned within about 20 minutes after turning on the radio. I had the power recliner eject me and got up and walked in freedom. It was then that I realized a need for the restroom. If the power had not returned so soon, that could have been a problem.

Update: When we made a pot of coffee the next morning it dripped cold. Upon investigation I learned the GFCI outlet into which the coffee maker was plugged apparently tripped from the surge resulting when the power was restored the day before.

Neither of these issues would have bothered me 20 years ago. Being retired, however, and having fewer distractions in life imprisonment in a power recliner and cold coffee are major life disruptions.

The next thing you know I’ll probably lose my YouTube signal.

Arvid Huisman can be contacted at huismaniowa@gmail.com. ©2024 by Huisman Communications.