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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fett527" data-source="post: 2381707" data-attributes="member: 5458">I haven't been on ENWorld much since last Thursday.  This would be why:  OK, so last Thursday we had a couple of storms roll through the area.  One during the middle of the day and another at about 8:00 PM (this one was the worse of the two).  I host my own e-mail at home and I notice that half way through the day I can't get to my webmail.  I immediately assume something happened related to the storm and I was right.  I get home and we had been hit by a significant power surge.  Lost power in part of the house, air conditioning was zapped and non-functional and I lost a bit of electronic equipment:DSL modemLinksys router5-port switch2 NICscordless phoneOnkyo receiverThe computer/network equipment I can replace for little money (we weren't the only ones hit as by the time I got to Best Buy they had sold out of desktop NICs completely) however I was PISSSSSSSSSSSED about the receiver.  Not the top of the line so it still comes within our insurance deductible of course.  Grrrrrrrrrr.Now, the fun begins.  The other storm rolls through, and I've never seen a storm (here in Dayton) put out this much lightning before.  I get a phone call from neighbors of my parents (they live less than 10 minutes away) about 9:30 PM saying their house is on fire.  The house had been struck by lightning while, thankfully, my parents were having dinner with my brother and his wife so no human was hurt.  We lost our cocker spaniel, Buffy, to smoke inhalation.  This is the house I grew up in from 6th grade on and the house my grandparents lived in.  It sucked.  The kitchen was destroyed, the living room will have to be gutted.  It could have been much worse, but the closest fire station is just up the street so they got there quickly.  The worst part was the dog.  If you have pets you know how much they can mean to a family and how much more they start to mean to older couples whose kids are gone.  They start to get very attached.  My mom and my dad had a tough time with the dog.  I actually had to go in the house and get her out.  It was tough and I wasn't even all that attached to her.  We were up until 3:00 AM making sure the insurance company was notified and making a plan on what my parents would do the next few days.Now, I want to emphasize this point- MAKE SURE YOU HAVE GOOD HOME OWNERS OR RENTERS INSURANCE.  I went first thing the next morning to take pictures and videotape and my Dad had already talked to the insurance company and they were to meet him at 1:00 PM that day.  The insurance guy came, the contractor was there and had someone come out to clean up somethings while we were there and they had the cleaners come and start to bag up bedding and clothing.  The coverage on the house is extensive (and includes living expenses), the deductible is low and I can't tell what a boon this has been to my parents.  The relief on my Dad's face was immediately visible.  I hope no one else has had to go through this.</blockquote>

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