Yesterday there was a crazy thunderstorm in my area. When I say “crazy” I don’t mean, “wow, pretty lightning.” I mean, “where did that tree branch come from? We don’t have maples in this area” crazy. I found a trash can lid outside our fence, random pieces of trash scattered throughout the yard.
But the worst part of this summer storm was that it took out the power for my whole neighborhood. From yesterday afternoon until about 3pm today, my household was without power.
Before yesterday, I did not realize how dependent I am on electricity. I considered myself “resourceful” even though in elementary school when I played Oregon Trail, I always wanted to be the Banker and never made it all the way. Everyone in my party always died of dysentery or being eaten by wolves or whatever. It’s kind of like the kid who has taken three martial arts classes and considers himself a “lethal weapon.” I’m that kind of “resourceful.” And after today, I know that. I’ve accepted it. Here are five reasons why.
- I like light. There. I said it. I like that when I walk into a room, all I have to do is flip a switch, and then BAM, light. No matches. No candles. No flint. No heartache. Just light. I must have walked into the bathroom ten times and tried to turn the light on.
- I like air conditioning. Know how it gets hot in the summer? That’s not fun. Know what is fun? Not being so hot you don’t know where your skin ends and your clothes begin. Gross but true.
- I like modern refrigeration. We had a lot of cold, soon to be tasty food in the refrigerator. Now we don’t.
- I like the interwebs. Probably a little too much. Being without power for a day shows you how crazy your obsession with double rainbow really is.
- I like watching movies with my wife. We ended up watching a movie on her laptop. Until it ran out of battery power. We then moved to my laptop. At least my geekdom paid off there.
In summary, electricity is good. If it were not for electricity, I would be a useless dead-weight on a horse-drawn wagon.