A Craving For Power

So … okay … there was this hurricane down in Texas. It made a mess in Galveston, and flooded Houston … Hurricane “Ike.” Maybe you heard about it.

Okay, that’s in Texas, ya know? Texas. Wa-a-a-y down there on the map. On a child’s puzzle, Texas was always an easy piece to find, because it’s big. And it’s easy to know where it goes, because IT’S WAY DOWN THERE!

So … then … so … how could a hurricane from Texas knock out the power in my house? I mean, I’m HALF A COUNTRY AWAY from this thing!

It couldn’t, ya know? Couldn’t possibly reach me. Couldn’t. NOT NOT NOT! Are you listening to me in the weather bureau? NOT NOT NOT!

In the future, I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your storms where they’re supposed to be, thank you very much. I’d appreciate that. I would.

Anyway. The power went out a week ago, Sunday evening at 6:05pm. It didn’t come back on until this past Saturday. I’m not sure what time it came back on, because my clocks are electric, and I DIDN’T HAVE ANY POWER!

(In the desire for full disclosure, I must admit that my power did come back on last Wednesday. In the middle of the night I was awakened by my downstairs TV screaming at me to buy a vacuum cleaner shaped like a large ball. I know it was a large ball because I had just managed to stumble down stairs and was reaching for the kill switch when the power again went off, leaving me in a pitch black room and mood. I concluded that this whole episode was the electric company’s attempt at dark humor …)

So … what can you do for a week with no electricity?

Well, you can watch food spoil. That’s always fun. You can wander, zombie-like, around the neighborhood. You can shave by flashlight (By the way, that’s not NEARLY as romantic as everyone says it is.) You can become re-acquainted with radio, reminding you why you stopped listening to it in the first place.

You can talk to people on your cell phone (for awhile. Until it needs to be re-charged. Another illusion demolished. I always thought the cell phone fairy came around in the middle of the night and took care of stuff like that. Guess not.)
On the other hand, I was surprised by how many people genuinely care about me – wanted to be sure I had hot water, a place to wash clothes, and meals that didn’t automatically come with French fries. To those of you who knew and called and cared, thank you. I love you very much.

On the OTHER hand, I had plenty to keep me busy. Every day I would type on the revisions for the play Julie Morrison and I have written. (Of course I didn’t have any POWER to the computer, but just punching away at the dead keys made me feel a little better.)

And then there’s the acting class I’m supposed to start teaching this week – gotta get everything ready. Gotta print all the forms that are stored in my computer, and … ohthat’sright … great googely woogely …

Oh. And I’m directing a production of Blithe Spirit for a local theatre company. I received a call last Monday, asking me if I would/could replace a director who was forced to drop out. Since I wasn’t doing anything except running into things in the darkness, I readily agreed – something to occupy my mind.

“When do rehearsals start,” I inquired. “When is the first one?”

“In about two hours,” came the sheepish reply.

Okay …

The power came back on a little over a day ago. No more quiet, no more naps in the afternoon. No more casual walks around the neighborhood. No more instant communication with every disaster in the world. No more –

Hm-m-m.

Maybe I should think about this some more.

Hm-m-m.

And how was your day?

JB