What did you do during the Cox cable outage?

November 7, 9:38 PMAlexandria Family ExaminerJennifer Angellatta-Moore

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Cox Communications had an outage on November 4, 2009 leaving thousands of homes without TV
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We truly live in a digital age.  One does not have to take a step anymore without some sort of computerized connection to the outside world.  In our homes we have TV, movie players, Internet and telephone.  We carry cellular phones and laptops with wireless Internet cards so we never miss a beat. 

Children are no exception.  Even preschoolers have their favorite movies in mom and dad's DVD player in the car.  With all of these technological toys, what does a child do when they can't watch TV?

Cox Communications (the cable TV provider for Fairfax County) had a massive outage on November 4.  For hours, customers only saw a blue screen when trying to watch their favorite show. This sent many little ones into a panic, not knowing what else to do with their afternoon.

"Go play with your toys," one mother told her three year old, only to be met with a blank stare.

A mother of a teenage boy said that her son kept changing the channels, hoping that would trigger some sort of change in the cable box.

Whatever happened to board games, blocks and baby dolls?  Even children that do play with those sorts of toys normally do so with the TV on.  Depending on their age, Dora or Hannah Montana have become some children's best friend.  So many people in Northern Virginia don't even know who their neighbors are, so sending the kids next door to play is not likely.

Some families said that the cable outage caused them to actually break out the playing cards and games for the family.  One family decided to blow the dust off of the old vinyl music albums and they played music instead.  Kids really are interested in things like they don't normally see.

Why do activities like that only when the cable is out?  Maybe that time could be used as an example of a new tradition that can be started in your family.

So, while Cox is apologizing for letting down their customers, maybe some customers should tell them thank you instead.  While their network lost power, a new type of power came on.