This week: Observations on a Dark, Hot Weekend Edited by: fyn  
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We forget just how painfully dim the world was before electricity. A candle, a good candle, provides barely a hundredth of the illumination of a single 100 watt light bulb. ~~Bill Bryson
We're a society that demands electricity 24/7. This is very difficult with sun and wind. ~~Vaclav Smil
We take it for granted that we can see at all times of day and night. But there was a time, not all that long ago, in the age before electricity, when night brought total darkness - and with it, a not-so-small amount of terror. We get a sense of this when we go camping or when there's a power outage, and our fear of the darkness is primal. ~~Jake Halpern
I'm a 'frotteur,' someone who likes to rub words in his hand, to turn them around and feel them, to wonder if that really is the best word possible. Does that word in this sentence have any electric potential? Does it do anything? Too much electricity will make your reader's hair frizzy. There's a question of pacing. ~~James Salter
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Saturday, sitting in the darkened, candle-lit kitchen, I thought, suddenly, about my newsletter. According to the energy company, they hoped to have power restored by Tuesday. There was no way I was even going to try to write a newsletter on my cell phone and that was assuming my cell was still charged. Not much gas in the car and mine needs to be running to charge a phone. It was a puzzle. Worst case, I'd manage to call someone who could send an email to SM and explain. The generator was great …except all it could do was keep the freezer and fridge running, oh and the well pump ... until we ran out of gas and, of course, the gas stations within reach had no power either.
It was an interesting weekend.
The grandkids complained that it was too hot outside to play. Their phones died early on and they kept looking at the small, dead devices as if they'd lost their best friend. Their thumbs twitched in withdrawal. "There's nothing to do." Their moans were pitiful. They were handed books to read, board games to play. The eventual battles over who would win Monopoly were a relief!
The food store several towns over was mobbed because they had power and thus air conditioning. Locally, everything was closed or dealing only in cash, which no one had because the ATMs were down.
People were walking around with glazed-over looks on their faces. They weren't looking down at phones. They actually had to interact! Or they wandered, zombie like. They couldn't Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter their feelings, emotions, thoughts. They couldn't complain to the world. They were lost.
Walking the dog (who couldn't care less if there was power because, hey, WALK in the offing) I noticed how quiet it was. No air conditioners thrumming away from every house. No music or bass reverberations vibrating. It was peaceful. Tree frogs croaked, birds sang and thunder rumbled in the distance. My dead cell phone was back at the house. Granted, I reached for it to take a picture several times, but the assorted ringtones and text noises were blissfully absent. We walked and wandered. I couldn't get any work done and I had 'me' time without feeling any guilt. Nothing I could do about it anyway. I was more relaxed than I'd been in months.
We joked about apocalyptic movies. And again zombies. My husband painted the hallway. Mowed the lawn. I sorted through stuff for a yard sale. All in all, we got a lot of stuff done without all the disruptions, interactions and side-tracking. A knock at the door-- did we want to go to the movies with everyone? I expect there were a lot of families watching 'Lion King' who might have otherwise waited for the dvd!!
When all was said and done, hubby mentioned, "I guess this will all be fodder for your next book, right?" I smiled. Next book? I'll use it in the one I'm working on!!! |
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Pumpkin  says:I'm sorry you're going through a rough patch. We seldom experience a "problem" alone; the whole family adjusts for it. The decisions that we make, the way we handle adversity, is what builds character. Sounds like you're doing well. You're not only surviving, but lending your experience to others to help with their writing and coping with life. Great attitude.
Thanks :)
Quick-Quill  writes:What a great NL. It is truly inspirational and one I'm keeping. I may need this in the future.
:)
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For Authors: July 24, 2019 Issue [#9670]
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