Life: Unplugged
So I’m sitting here in complete darkness, aside from the illuminating glow of my Mac, a cucumber melon candle and a pumpkin spice candle (it’s what we had, okay?). The laptop tells me I have 13% power left so I charge my phone as I write this post. 13% or roughly a half hour before darkness consumes our house. I feel like we should be boarding up windows, hanging garlic cloves and strategically placing glasses of water around the house like that kid from Signs.
Luckily, we have a radio with some batteries left in it so I naturally turn it to 700 WLW to listen to the angry Bengals fans calling in. Misery certainly loves company. Anna Maria quickly tires of this bantering, so I try a rock station. She tries a poppy station. We compromise on freakin’ Delilah.
It’s weird. What do you do? I start to ravenously eat things in the fridge that I’m sure will spoil. I consider grilling a bunch of stuff late night then realize I can’t store it in the fridge. Duh. It’s funny how many things rely on electricity! That Franklin and his silly kite¾what a guy. I try not to complain about the bathroom being dark because I’m suddenly so grateful for modern day plumbing, but my accuracy has decreased by 50%. And it was only at 60% with the lights on.
Seriously, what do you do without power? It’s like you have to unlearn everything. The second night, I find myself racing home to beat the sun like the vampires are coming and I am legend. I meet my wife and we prepare for the night. What I want to do is flip on some lights, turn on the tube, check email and scour some sites as Anna Maria gets dinner started. What I can do is sit on the couch and talk.
The funny thing is this is my wife’s dream come true: no distractions. We take a walk with the dog, play some cards by candlelight, drink room temperature wine and listen to Delilah (by the second night, I’m no longer making fun of Crowded House, I’m humming along). I’m actually getting used to having no power and we’re starting to enjoy it. Sure, they didn’t have Family Guy, The Daily Show, HBO, Tivo, www.adrants.com, www.bengals.com, iPhones, “light switches,” “light bulbs,” remotes, alarm clocks, iPods, garage door openers, stoves, fridges, microwaves and book lights. But, they had…they had…dialogue.
I’m sure they had great conversation because that’s all they had. It’s kind of refreshing actually, to unplug your life. My wife and had a great time playing cards, hanging out, talking about stuff and slowing things down. It was a nice reminder the winds of fury brought us Sunday, September 14 – Tuesday, September 16. Your eyes adjust and your life starts to take more focus.
I’d do it again, for a day or two anyway. Cards. Board Games (I see the double meaning of the word now). Old school radios. Cheap wine. Good conversation with good company.
Plus, if you really get bored, there’s always one thing that never turns off.
