Internet Access Denied Most of Yesterday

My internet connection went down in a big way yesterday evening, followed closey by my PC, crashing. I thought then it must be a problem with my computer, not just the connection, and spent hours trying to fix the computer. I switched to the old one, which was not easy, because I had to scramble up a bunch of components to fit together. Deep into the night, I got it going, but I could not get a connection on it either. Then I panicked, believing the bad connection must have been responsible somehow for frying my other hard drive. So I shut it off and called comcast.

After about 15 minutes on hold, listening to insipid elevator music, and a repeat computer generated voice, saying "Thank you for your patience. Please continue to hold. All our representatives are busy right now" I finally got a human on the line.

The human lives and works in Costa Rica. He claimed to be sending a "refresh" through my modem. From Costa Rica! He said something about I must have overloaded my modem with data, by opening too many websites at the same time, on my other computer. At first I started argue, that I barely even websurf and never have more than one website open at a time. Then I decided against saying anything. He could barely understand English and was very nice. After a few minutes, with him "refreshing" my modem, I could get online again.

I haven't tried my original PC again, will, but am afraid, and wonder just what happened yesterday. What if my new computer is toast? Then what? And was it somehow Comcasts fault if it is? I remembered later seeing two comcast repair trucks with cherry pickers working on lines two or three blocks from here.

That had to related to my problem. The problem started with trouble going online, but then my computer wouldn't do simple operations offline after that and seemed functionally dead. I'm scared to try it.

I talked to the people who took in Peter, James and Martha yesterday. They called this morning, saying they've seen Martha, knowing I'm worried, but not the boys. But then came more disclosure, that the building there on their property, virtually a small house they use for storage, whose door has always been wide open when I'm there, they say is usually closed up, and they don't like the cats inside. I said, "How do you know they're not in there if the door is open sometimes, because the wind blows it open, but you close the door most of the time?"

Well, they said, the cats run out, if they open it, or would meow if closed in. I said "Not true ferals, like the boys. They wouldn't make a sound if you came in." Instant panic has seized me, that those boys have been closed in that oft open building without food or water for days. They said they'd check, but how would they? They said the cats are usually up in the attic in the insulation. I am terribly worried for the boys now. What have I done?