I'll Just Sit Here in the Dark

Things really weren’t the same after the power surge messed with our computer system at work last week. We had no Internet service and no access to our server, where all our files live. We could look at our e-mail inbox, but could not send or receive e-mail. We were told it would probably be several days before the system was fixed. Suddenly, we were set adrift just outside the cyberspace in which we now operated.


To risk sounding like the old fogey that I actually am, I remembered the days before we all had computers and the Internet in our workplaces. We called people on the telephone, sent letters through the mail, looked things up in books, and typed things – like entire newsletters – on typewriters. We certainly didn’t have computers or phones that we could carry with us. Boy, did I hate those days.

My whole life changed when I got a word processor. It was basically a glorified typewriter encased in a monitor box, but it allowed me (miraculously!) to view, save, copy, edit and delete text. From there, it was an easy leap to the word processing programs on real computers, e-mail, and, for a research junkie like me, to the Internet.

When it was all abruptly taken away, I experienced something very close to a real withdrawal. Trying to work without my tools was exhausting. By the end of the second day, functioning was difficult, and I had a problem putting together intelligent sentences.

So, that evening, when we lost power at home on a calm, storm-less night, it was almost too much to bear. I’m even more attached to electricity than I am to the Internet. I thought, briefly, that Armageddon was coming after all, just a day or two late. It was reassuring when I called my son, who lives in the city, and heard that he had power. That meant that the entire Earth wasn’t affected. We were unable to reach my father, who lives near us, so at about 10 p.m. my husband and I headed out to check on him.

On our way there, from radio reports and the newspaper (via my son) we discovered that a transformer blew causing a Big Power Outage for something like 44,000 households, including ours, in two counties. After determining that Dad was just fine, and equipped with alternate light sources, we found our way to an Eat n Park that was open and had power.

The salt in the wound of all of this was that by this time, they were getting ready to announce the winner of Dancing with the Stars. Not only was I missing it, I wouldn’t be watching later as there was no electricity to power the DVR that was set to tape the show.

My sister called to find out what was going on. She told me that Chelsea Kane had already been eliminated on DWTS, so now it was between Kirstie Alley and our very own Hines Ward to win it all. She offered to stay on the phone to give me the play-by-play, but by that time, my comfort food – Grilled Stickies ala Mode- had arrived. We were the last customers left in the restaurant and they were starting to clean up, so I thought I should eat my food. A few minutes later, my son called with the good news. Hines Ward was bringing home the Mirror Ball Trophy! A little light in the darkness, to be sure.

The power was out at home for 12 hours, and the computer system at work was out, in full or in part, for four work days. Now that I am reconnected to my precious technology, the shaking has subsided and I am again breathing normally.