Where Were YOU When the Lights Went Out?

I’ve had this old Reba McEntire song “The Night the Lights went out in Georgia” in my head since it happened. Except in my case, I am singing “The Night the Lights went out in Wal-Mart.” That is after all where I was when it happened. One minute I was looking at fabric, and the next I was surrounded by almost total darkness. What a weird feeling.

Last night Yorkton and surrounding area experienced a blackout that lasted about 3 hours. I have never been in a public place during a power outage before. I was bracing myself for pandemonium, confusion and anarchy. Frankly, it was a little disappointing. Other than a few gasps, people walked out pretty calmly. No chaos, no clamor, not even a hint of a ruckus. Not the Armageddon that the movies so often hint at. No one even stopped my attempts at looting. Just kidding…the tills are apparently on batteries, or back-up or something, so…no freebies. Sigh

But it was a fun night, and so I compiled the following list to remember my night of non-bedlam:

THINGS I LIKE BEST ABOUT A BLACK-OUT

1. Candlelight Dinners – Harv and I have not had dinner by candlelight in an embarrassing length of time. What is more romantic than cold turkey sandwiches and carrot sticks over the warm glow of a flickering candle?

2. The confirmation that my husband WILL INDEED come find me in a dark Wal-Mart, rather than using the opportunity to escape in the commotion. I’ve been a little grumpy lately, so it was nice to know that he didn’t hesitate to head my way. I can still see his silhouette coming towards me, the glowing light of his cell phone leading the way.

3. The realization that contrary to my cemented views of the evils of Superstore, they do pull through in a pinch. While other stores were sending their customers out into the cold darkness, Superstore didn’t even blink. We walked right in, got all our groceries, and even had the added bonus of mood lighting. Superstore seemed a lot less irritating to me under the calming glow of the back up emergency light system.

4. Bonus drumsticks - I have a little tradition. Or, maybe a little addiction would be a more appropriate term. Every Thursday night I treat myself to what has become one of the great joys of my week...a Nestle drumstick. Seriously, you don’t even know what you are missing if you haven’t tried these melt-in your-mouth-little-piece-of-heaven-right-here-on-earth delicacies. Aaahh yes, a drumstick and Grey’s Anatomy…it’s my own little Thursday night Shangri-La. ANYWAY…yesterday with the darkness looming and the freezer – not freezing, we felt it was in our best interest to “save the drumsticks” by…well…eating them. We had to do it people! Take one for the team, so to speak. THEY WERE MELTING!!!! Sorry…I’m a little defensive. But VERY satisfied!

5. Candle Utopia – my living room was a beautiful blaze of flickering glory. What a sight. My pyro tendencies make my hubby a little nervous, but he puts up with it, because the only thing that glows brighter than the conglomeration of candles is my joy-filled face at the sight of it.

So it was a good night; a quiet night, that I would welcome on any occasion. And the best thing of all…it lasted only long enough for us to appreciate it, and short enough that the power was on, and the candles were out, just when the boredom was starting to flicker.