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Aug 16, 2003 So things were going on as normal up until the power went out. Only a brief flicker warned me to turn the computer off and then lights out. Of course it was only four in the afternoon, the sun was shining, it was a humid day, and in all honesty I had been on that darn computer way too long. My first thought wasdid sweetie remember to pay the power bill? Perusing through the checkbook I noticed he had and it was all up to date. I headed next door to the flower shop just to make sure someone else was in the dark like myself. Yes, luckily I live next to a flower shop and the ladies know me well. Entering in I noticed it was dark in there and when I called out Lynn answered with a so you too and we shared a laugh. Neither of us had access to a radio with batteries so we assumed someone had driven into a pole or something. Earlier in the week we lost power briefly due to severe thunderstorms so we really didnt see the need to concern ourselves. Back in the house I went, ushering my son away from his game boy and into the car. Because of the humidity and the now lack of air conditioner cooling the house, the car was my last resort to keep cool. Once in the car I flipped on the radio and much to my amazement we werent the only ones without power, New York was in the dark as well. Not once did my mind consider a terrorist attack, I guess I just dont consider everything to be a big tragedy. If you think about it, there are bazillions of people in this world, eventually we will use up too much power, so this is something to be prepared for at any given time. I actually had to laugh when I heard other people on the radio bring that concern up. Not everything that happens in this world is going to be terrorist related and we shouldnt overreact. After fifteen minutes of mindlessly driving, Id had enough of listening to the news and drove back home. My son was to have his final soccer game and trophy night tonight so I helped him get ready and again we headed out. Now the news was stating that one side of the issue thought it was the fault of Canada and another side of the issue said it was the Americans at fault. To this I had to laugh. Does it really matter who caused the blackout? Lets just deal with it and cheer when the lights come back on. This shouldnt be a blame game! Now that we were headed away from the residential area and nearing a light, cars were lined up for miles. Apparently no one understood who had the right of way and an accident had occurred up along one street. Come on people, lets treat the light like a four way stop and cater to the right. How hard is that? Did no one really read the car rule book in the beginning when they were trying for their license? I was disgusted with the amount of rude and inconsiderate drivers out on the road. Sure everyone wants to get homebut why? There are no lights on? Why walk around from one room to the other absently flipping on light switches when you know they dont work? The sun is still out, its a beautiful day, get off the road! At the final soccer game I chatted with other parents and had to really hold in my comments. I felt like I was in high school with the amount of rumors being spread. The fact was no one knew what really happened, so why speculate? Personally I found other things to talk about but other people just couldnt let it go. Instead of cheering for the kids it was a round of where were you when the lights went out? and I grew bored quickly. I was more concerned about the fires going on in British Columbia then I was about lights being out. I guess maybe from going camping every weekend of every summer I have learned to live without electricity quite well and my life doesnt stop just because its dark. Certainly its an inconvenience, that I cannot argue, but it also isnt the worst thing that could happen and is most certainly going to happen again in the future. I guess my main peeve about all of this is that we dont have to treat everything as a crisis. Things will happen in life and the smartest thing to do is adapt and not overreact. Luckily we had our power back on that evening after a lovely barbeque dinner compliments of my chef sweetie. While I realize for others it could be days and with it being humid and all it is terrible and for many places it is a state of emergency, if we all worked together as a unit instead of griping about our own personal squabbles, things would run much more smoothly. If you dont have to be out on the road, then dont. Gas stations that remained running on a generator were bombarded and therefore most people ran out of gas waiting to fill up with gas. Today I went to the store to simply get a jug of water and half an hour later I was able to get into the store. People were buying things up as if it were Armageddon or something. Can we say relax? As I said, it really isnt that new of an idea is it? Doesnt anyone realize the possibilities of everyone using so much power that this is something that can occur at any given time? Have we not seen what happened in California? We arent immune to anything happening, but we dont have to run around like chickens with our heads cut off either. My heart goes out to anyone suffering health problems or who are away from their loved ones, but it will be fixed in the next few days and now you will be better prepared should this happen again in the future. And it most certainly will. ------------ About the author: Nancy Jackson is a full time author with works in Twilight Times, Anotherealm, Lost Souls, and various anthologies including Labor Pool Horror Tales, Broken Mirrors, and the Romancing the Soul series. Email Nancy Jackson: coryann93@yahoo.com Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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