Blackout

Last night, I was watching the New York Giants play the Washington Redskins. Thankfully, it was a good alternative to watching the hatefest and self-congratulatory backslapping that had become known as the Republican National Convention. Then, all of a suddenit happened... there was complete nothingness. The air conditioner, television, and lights went off and I found myself in the middle of a blackout. (Actually, the lights went off first or at least that's what I noticed first. A psychological study could be done as to what people notice going off first during a blackout.)

In the middle room, both computers went off and I had both of my blogs up so that I could write some posts during halftime. The house was dark and quiet... my wife, daughter, and grandson were home too but they (like me) were wandering around and trying to make the best of the situation.

In the driveway behind my house I could hear the voices of several angry men. Apparently, they were sitting on their decks watching the football game too! (I know they weren't that upset because they could no longer view the Republican National Convention! "Aww man, I don't believe this ish... I'm missin' John McCain's speech. Ah know, right?")

In the meantime, my wife (and probably several other people) called PECO, our electric supplier and, of course, they said what they always say when something like this happens... "We are aware of the problem and we will have someone out there as soon as possible." Which really means, "We'll get to it when we get to it."

My daughter was on her cell phone talking to someone and my grandson seemed totally oblivious to all of the darkness. The joy and innocence of children (and, especially toddlers) is amazing to watch at times. They are too young to be attached to electronic appliances/devices of any kind. There was still just a slither of daylight left so, I took him outside for a while. He was happy to just run from one end of the patio landing to the other end, over and over again.

My cell phone was recharging and with the electric off, there really wasn't any charging going on. To make matters worse, only one phone in the house was working... the one in our basement. It was from the days of old when a phone did not need electricity to function. (Remember them? If you don't, you know the rule... I don't want to hear about!) The other four phones in the house are all cordless and the bases need electricity for recharging, etc. Thank God for the old "Ma Bell" phone in the basement!

Because the entire neighborhood (and several surrounding areas) were in the dark, it seemed like a good time to just sit outside on the steps. It was a stifling hot night and with nothing else to do, everybody came outside, sat on their steps, and did something revolutionary... we actually talked each other! Of course, we all complained about the power being off but then, we all just talked in general.

Well, you know me... social animal that I am, I walked from block to dark block talking to groups of people sitting on steps with nothing else to do but talk. Surprisingly enough, everybody was very receptive and I didn't detect any attitudes. It turned out to be a great time to reconnect with people I see everyday but, I'm usually too busy to talk to or just don't choose to talk to for whatever reason.

Finally, the power came back on but unfortunately, it was long after the game was over. I know that the Giants won but, I don't know the score. So, 12 Kyle and Eb the Celeb... if you're out there lurking, could you tell me the final score-lololol! . I believe I was on Karrie B.'s blog just before I starting watching the football game and I didn't get a chance to read anybody else's posts last night. So, I'll get around to that sometime today or tonight.

Right now and as of this writing, it's 3:19am and I couldn't sleep. I think I'm ready to go back to bed now so, I bid you goodnight (or should I say good morning).