Eek! We were watching television the Friday night of a big storm a few weeks ago when we heard a loud “Pop!” The lights went out, and we moaned, “Oh no, not again!” Bill fetched our battery powered camp lantern. He also brought forth a little radio and a small, bright light bar from his stash of various prizes that are sent to him by magazine publishers or other advertisers. About 25,000 homes were without power.
No television, no reading, no music, so we went to bed early under an extra blanket. The next morning I fired up the gas grill to heat water for my morning coffee which jumpstarts my day. I was worried about our freezer out in the garage which is kept stocked with meat that Bill buys on sale, including a large standing rib roast. He had just put our Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys in it. Fortunately our power was back on by noon.
A few years ago, we went through this when there was a huge storm down south of which we caught the edge. The electricity went off while Bill was out at the track, attending the inaugural motorcycle race. At least it was cool this time with colder weather predicted. The first time was during hot weather, and our side of the street was without power for three or four days.
What to do about the freezer? Determined that he was going to save our frozen food, Bill bought a long extension cord, and the neighbors across the street let him plug it into their outdoor outlet. He stood for hours at the side of the street, unplugging it when cars were coming.
Oh pioneers! I cooked on the Coleman stove that we used on camping trips. While I was cooking dinner one evening, I had an experience that I shall never forget. Even though we live in a big city, just a block from busy Shadeland Avenue, deer had been seen in our Warren Park neighborhood. Bill swore that they ate the pears on his pear tree. I looked up. There was a half-grown fawn standing about eight feet from me. It was so adorable that I wished I could hug it around its neck! It watched me for a minute and then ambled slowly back into the little woods behind our house.
These experiences without electricity make me think about the lives of my ancestors who were pioneers of Clinton Co. I mused about how peaceful their existence must have been. For one thing, their world was much quieter. Here there is the constant murmur of traffic and in summer the noise of the little race track a mile or so south of here. Also, it is never totally dark in this big city.
Perhaps their lives were less stressful than ours. They were governed by the passage of the sun. “Early to bed, early to rise,” quoth Ben Franklin who started it all with a key and a kite. He said that he wished he could come back in 150 years to see what the world was like. I wonder what he’d think. He’d probably have fits of amazed ecstasy at the lights, medical machines, freezers, refrigerators, radios, television, heat and computers that are driven by electric power that we take for granted. On the other hand, he’d probably disapprove of the way mankind is raping the Earth and damaging the environment by digging coal mines to generate more and more electricity.
Talk about stress. One of my ancestresses bore fourteen babies. “Wow!” I said to Vicki. “Yeah, but a lot of them died.” Think of childbirth by lamp and candle light! I wouldn’t care to exchange my modern stove for an iron range, get my water from an outdoor pump, take a bath in a laundry tub or have to visit a stinky outhouse. All things considered, I’m grateful for what I have. wclarke@comcast.net