For five days and five nights we were without electricity, the internet, and for three days we could not get out of our driveway. Hurricane Zeta hit us hard, our pine trees and power lines even harder. For this week’s prompt we were asked to mix fall colors. I took the word “fall” literally and did a piece about life without electricity. It will be along while before I turn on the light switch without giving great thanks for electricity.
When the power crew arrived we stood at the top of our driveway and watched them install the new power pole and lines, then cheered like it we won the lottery when we saw lights on our house. How thankful we are for people who work through the night to keep us safe, warm and in power. And how well we slept with heat throughout and the knowledge that the next morning meant access, being out and about and the real clean up could begin. I will say Thomas Edison was right, we were rich indeed to have candles and fire…personally I’ll take electricity any day of the week. I’m not sure I would have been very good living on a farm without power. It’s REALLY hard work and no wonder they died so young.
We forget how privileged we are and how much we are addicted to electricity, the internet and being able to go wherever we want whenever we want. We usually do not appreciate things until they are gone. Perhaps the missing of something reminds us how blessed we were to have it AND humbles us by reminding us how helpless we are without it. We found ourselves cherishing candles to burn and a roaring fire place to warm at least one room of the house.
Ann Art Gallery Blog 