Hurricane Bob was bearing down on the Atlantic coast. Safe in his home on that same coast, a man named J. R. thought he was well prepared. The power failed, but that didn’t faze him. As night fell, he simply fired up some oil lamps and placed his Coleman camping stove on top of the electric range in his kitchen to cook his dinner. So what if he had no electricity? He was able to enjoy a delicious meal thanks to his Coleman stove. He commended himself on his foresight. He went to bed secure in the knowledge that Mother Nature could not beat him.

Meanwhile, outside diligent linemen worked through the night to restore power. Before dawn, all the appliances in J. R.’s house were again working, including the electric range. But J. R., as prepared as he was, had overlooked one important detail …