If You Couldn't Laugh, You'd Probably Cry

Some times it helps to have a sense of humor about the power outages affecting our area in the wake of Hurricane Irene.

To that end, I offer the following two perspectives.

Bob Barrett, a former aide to Dutch Ruppersberger turned senior adviser to Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Joe A. Hairston, was all set for the storm.

Barrett went out and stocked his fridge with everything he needed— lunch meat, ice cream frozen peas (really?).

"I had everything I needed to survive," Barrett said with a laugh.

And then he lost power.

"I couldn't see, couldn't eat and coudn't get out of the garage," Barrett said.

But it's not all about survival and the loss of food.

Former Del. Don Murphy, a Catonsville Republican, had a different take on being out of power and then reconnected.

Murphy, who served from 1995-2003, was redistricted out of his seat after the 2002 maps were drawn.

"Lights are on! But thanks to redistricting, I expect to be 'outta power' for another 10 years... ;-(," Murphy wrote on his Facebook page.

But given that Murphy was a Republican in a House of Delegates in which the Democrats had overwhelming control, one could question whether or not the former deputy minority whip ever had power.