My Night of Darkness

     This title is a little deceiving because it sounds intriguing like a mystery novel but unfortunately that's not the case.   It is just about a night when the power went out last week.  I was getting ready to cook salmon on the George Forman electric grill when for no reason the house went dark.  Power outage but there was no storm or high winds so it was odd.  I thought maybe there was an accident that knocked a power pole down.  The whole neighborhood was dark.

     I had just opened a bottle of red wine to enjoy with my salmon, Mimi had already nuked a turkey burger so she was finished eating. We planned a relaxing evening watching a few of our favorite shows, but that was interrupted by darkness.  We lit a few candles to give us a little light so it we weren't in total darkness.  My sister-in-law (Ann) called about a wine sale at Schnucks so we took the opportunity to check it out fully expecting the power to be back on when we returned, but no joy.  No luck with the wine sale either.

     The house was still dark so we relit the candles I then decided to grill the salmon on the pit.  Mimi was resting on the couch, starting to dose while I sat eating my grilled salmon and sipping red wine.  A power outage is a drag because it's like living off the grid except for there cell phone there were no electronics.  Like most people we use the computer and iPad constantly even when we are watching TV, but oddly I found it very relaxing sitting in a candle lit room listening to the quiet and observing the shadows cast by the candle flame.

     It made me think how all these electronic devices interrupt our random thoughts.  I mean I already knew that but I still use them and rely on them daily.  Sitting in the darkness with out these devices made me realize I was thinking more freely, pure thought, which was not directed or influenced by TV or social media.  It was refreshing and relaxing to sit in the flickering candlelight.

     I'm 67 so I was introduced to Goggle late in life which makes it easier to separate from the Internet than younger folks but due to this power outage I discovered the idea of fasting from electronics periodically to be a good idea for me.  I will treat it like a time to recharge my batteries and be with myself.  There are many things you can do to relax and recharge your batteries like watching the waves roll on to a deserted beach, listening to a gentle rain, seeing a new snowfall blanket the ground or watching the flames flicker in a burning campfire.  There is one thing they have in common; they don’t need a plug.  "Just Saying...."