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All I can say is, prison's gotta be a lot better than THIS. I'm pretty sure they guarantee you a warm cell and three meals a day, so when the police do come back, believe me, I'll be ready to go. Tuesday When I woke up today, I realized I'd somehow lost Alfrendo again, but I wasn't too upset about it. I was pretty happy to be reunited with my doll yesterday, but it hasn't been easy picking up where we left off. This morning I noticed it was snowing a lot less, but the electricity was still out, and Mom said we were just gonna have to adapt to our new circumstances until the snow melted. She said I hadn't showered in a few days and I

couldn't live like a "savage." I promised Mom I'd bathe TWICE a day once the electricity came back on, but she made me go upstairs to take a shower anyway. The water was freezing cold, and the only towel in the bathroom was one Mom used yesterday. So I had to dry myself with some gauze I found in the cabinet under the sink. After I got dressed, I heard a knock on the front door. I thought maybe the police had finally come to take me away, and I felt dizzy. But when I looked out the window I saw ROWLEY standing there, and he had something in his hands.

I thought Rowley had come to RESCUE us. But when I opened the door, he told me he brought us Christmas cookies, and then he asked me if I wanted to come outside and play. I told him he was out of his MIND and asked him how his family was surviving without any electricity, but he looked confused. Rowley said his family still had electricity and everyone else on the street did, too. And sure enough, I could see people's Christmas lights on up and down the street. Then Rowley asked me if I wanted to make a

snowman. I slammed the door shut, but only after I helped myself to a few cookies. I told Mom what Rowley said about the electricity, and she told me to go down to the basement to see if there was something wrong with our fuse box. When I opened it up and looked at the circuit breaker, here's what I found — The only switch that was ON was the one for Manny's room. I ran upstairs, and when I opened Manny's door I got a blast of heat. Manny was sitting there with a space heater, a pile of food, and a bunch of OTHER stuff, too.

When things got bad, Manny must've figured it was every man for himself. I think he would've let the rest of us freeze to death as long as HE had enough to survive. Mom asked Manny why he cut off the power to the rest of the house, and he started blubbering that it was because no one ever taught him how to tie his shoes. While Mom dealt with Manny, I went down to the basement and switched on the circuit breakers for

the rest of the house. The electricity came back on, and the furnace kicked in. A few minutes after that, Dad called. He said the highways were clear and that he was coming home. I looked out the window and saw the plow coming up our hill. Mom said it was a "miracle" that Dad was gonna be home for Christmas Eve, but to be honest with you, I had totally forgotten what day it was until that moment. Dad picked up some food on the way home, and the rest of us ate like a pack of wolves. And let me just say, I'll never take food for granted again.