The End

The power went out at my house today and didn't come back on for AN ENTIRE HOUR. An eternity in today's plugged-in world. I mean, what was I supposed to do? Computer's down. Okay, go watch some TV: d'oh! Alright, listen to some music then: unh-uh. Talk on the phone? Sorry, the base for the cordless needs that pesky power. How's dinner doing? Crap, the baby-backs are only half cooked!

Don't panic, don't panic. Gosh it's hot and stuffy in here with no air conditioning. Maybe I'll just go to a nice air conditioned café...except I can't open the garage door. Great. I know there's a manual release somewhere. Do I have the energy to look for it? No. No I don't think I do.

As I trudge back inside, I realize it's too hot to nap. Ditto exercise. I can't pop over to my neighbor's house because 1) a casual wave as we drive away in the morning does not a relationship make, and 2) it's just as hot and boring over at their place. Oh my god, I think I'm going to have to...READ. Or write with a wooden stick on pulped tree material. Or meditate. Euw! I don't have the patience to RELAX. Honestly, if I sit down and clear my mind, the thoughts might catch up with me! Gotta keep moving: bob and weave, baby, bob and weave.

As I contemplate the horror of an existence without electrical power, my sister arrives. The first thing she usually does when she gets home is fill a glass with ice and water from the refrigerator door: welcome to my world, sis. In shock, she sits down on the couch. I sit down on the chair. She looks at the TV. I look at the TV. We both look back at each other. "We are going to die."

Obviously the power eventually came back on. The terror, however, remains. I started thinking about how lucky we are to have power, great gobs of it at our disposal every day. And what do we have to do to get it? Pay a little bit of money every month, that's all. Pay a little bit of money and someone else will do all the heavy lifting so all we have to do is flip a switch. Gosh, that's money well spent. I mean, whatever we pay it's totally worth it, right? In fact, we'd pay pretty much anything for that power, wouldn't we? Especially now as we enter the hundred degree season.

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Hm. Do you think they did it on purpose?