I stood on my back deck gazing at the early evening sky. To the north a large dark cloud was moving overhead. My phone had just made that alarming infrequent blaring sound that causes a sudden jolt and everyone to look at each other and say “what the hell was that?” You quickly realize it’s either an Amber alert or a weather alert and one look at the sky confirmed the information on my phone.
Although the alert suggested taking cover immediately in a basement I went outside, not in some act of bravery or defiance but to simply see for myself the possible impending storm. It was quiet, eerily so, the very definition of the calm before the storm but I took great comfort that the deer were still grazing in the bean field next to us heads down munching away. A bolt of lightening flashed in the distance and then another and soon the deer were bounding for the relative safety of the woods. The tops of the trees rustled and the dark cloud moved faster.
The storm passed us without harm or even a drop of rain but soon after we lost power. It’s funny when you lose something you always just take for granted. Routines get disrupted immediately. The TV goes out, dinner plans might get changed and the usual evening activities are altered. Suddenly a search for flashlights and water becomes the most important activity.
You quickly discover what flashlights are working and which need new batteries. My wife and I look at each other each without saying anything accusing the other of not checking the batteries beforehand. Married couples tend to do this, a silent look expressing the words they don’t say.
My wife checks the website to determine how great the area is without power, as if we’re the only ones suffering. It is funny when you don’t have power how quickly you feel inconvenienced. But after the initial hope of a quick restoration comes the resignation.
Modern conveniences disappear and I briefly ponder how life was before we all had electricity. People rose with the sun and went to bed at dark….does this mean those people got more sleep. They probably did as they weren’t doom scrolling in bed or watching the latest Netflix true crime doc and then pondering if that could really happen to them. Did they read more, talk to each more, tell stories and play more? Did they spend whatever waking hours outside when they weren’t working? Without the convenience of electricity were they less sedentary and more active?
My thoughts were interrupted by my wife sighing loudly while proclaiming that the latest update said a possible restoration time of the next morning. Thankfully the power returned within the hour as if my wife’s sighing had somehow been the catalyst to its recovery.
This morning while looking over news headlines I saw a story that sounded fake or at least a story that could not be happening here but in another country somewhere far away and less developed but the people of Gary Indiana have been without power for almost a month. A combination of summer storms and an aging power grid along with expanding demand due to data centers had somehow prevented full restoration. Having just experienced a few hours without power, a month without power seemed inconceivable.
It was then that I checked my phone for the daily weather and noticed that another round of afternoon storms was possible. Better get out the flashlights and check the batteries…no excuses this time.
Peace and Love,
John
