Power outage.
No worries, the battery backup will keep me connected to the life-giving force of my existence–the internet.
No internet either?
Dammit, I have things to do.
I NEED the internet.
Blog.
Facebook.
Messenger.
Twitter.
Email.
My digital life has come to a standstill.
Dammit!
In the stillness of the moment, I begin to hear sounds that are normally drowned out by the buzz, hum, and whir of electronics, appliances, and fans.
A frog in the distance croaks out its mating call.
Crickets chirp, reminding me that summer will, in a few months, fade into fall.
A finch chirps as it eats seed from the bird feeder.
A block away, children are playing, their laughs and loud voices echoing my way.
Cars, one after another, make their way past my home.
A feral cat wanders into the yard, meowing as it stops to eat from the communal food dish.
The wind is silent, save for an occasional rustling of the backyard crabapple leaves.
I wonder, why is there no power?
A huge storm rumbled through Northwest Ohio last night, dumping lots of rain and downing numerous trees. Could this be the reason the power is off?
Perhaps a transformer failed or a car hit an electric pole.
Regardless of the why, I sit here typing, hoping to finish this post before the battery on my laptop dies.
In the quietness of the moment I am reminded that the sum of life is not Facebook shares, Twitter retweets, blog comments, and emails. While I have no desire to forsake modernity and its digital wonders, the sounds I now hear remind me that life continues, with or without Thomas Edison’s greatest invention — electricity.
It’s been an hour now…
A light breeze is now blowing and the lone frog has been joined by a chorus of other frogs hoping to get laid tonight. As dusk nears, I can hear other birds singing their songs. The mourning doves have arrived for their late feeding.
I feel calm, relaxed.
I think I will read a book.
The power needs to go off more often.
