Mike and I were standing in line at TSA pre-check at 1pm on the December 17th in ATL when the lights went out...and were still not back on more than 4 hours later. Because both the airport electrical system and back-up were down, no announcements were made at all, and airport staff were similarly in the dark, literally. People started to pile-up in the terminal. By 7pm, all flights were cancelled.
An older gentleman at the table next to us struck up a conversation. He was a retired business owner of an ambulance service for Medicare, a professional wrestling organization and a chain of tax preparation offices, amongst other things. He had been the Chair of the Georgia Republican party for decades, had a gun in his car, and on a first name basis with the current president. I decided not to mention that we were in town for a gay, atheist, foreign holiday celebration with a bunch of immigrants and green card holders. We got along fine, and he made an interesting observation about me and Mike. In this political climate, can't we all just get along?
Luckily, as soon as the lights went out, I booked a room at the Westin Airport hotel. We took the shuttle there when it became clear the lights were not coming back. They assigned me a "fit room" with a treadmill in it - was that a hint? The kind waiter sent Mike a cheesecake with Happy Birthday from the Westin, so all was not lost. We took an Uber to the movie theater and watched the new Star Wars release. The power came back at midnight, and we were able to rebook for Monday afternoon. That's fine, I was no hurry to get back to work, anyways. Other travelers unable to get hotel rooms were evacuated and bused to the convention center.
Not all adventures are planned. I'm no girl scout, but I can make the most of being stranded. :)