Out of juice

Just before six a.m. and dawn not quite breaking, I wasn't exactly sure, my alarm clock was unplugged from vacuuming the day before. I finally rolled out and headed for the bathroom.

Hmmm. No lights. Maybe it wasn't the vacuum that darkened my alarm.

Inventory: Did I pay the electric bill? Check. Rodent in my underground line? Nope, Sisters in the distance was darker than normal, too. This was a big outage.

I padded into the kitchen to get my flashlight and make a cup ... oh. Right. Electric coffee pot.

Hah! I have a propane stove! I can still make coffee, I thought with a set jaw. I would demonstrate my independence from the grid and boil water, just like I used to!

Hmm. Electric starter on each burner. I could get the gas going, but not light it ... wait a minute... I have lighter for the candle on the dinner table. That will work, I told myself with a smug nod of my head.

Water on, I turned to the coffee pot to make sure that I could put the boiling water through the grounds and .... oh, man. I have been using a coffee grinder on my whole beans for a year. The only way I could grind the beans now would be to smash them with the handle of a knife. Far too complicated.

Well, I better let others know I was out of commission. I intended to write an e-mail from my desk computer, which of course remained defiantly dark. No problem. I have a lap top, and its blue light glowed reassuringly. It could not, however, give life to my modem and connection to the world.

Whew. Okay, they always have the power on in a little while, it isn't like the old days, maybe I would take a shower. I can take a shower in the dark ... except my water comes from a well. Want to get all soaped up and run out of rinse? I changed my mind.

I sent a text to a friend I was supposed to meet at nine, telling her that I had been cut off. She sent a quick note back that she had power, and that I could stop by for coffee if I needed to, and a shower.

A better option than sitting in the dark for a couple of hours. At least I could start my day. So I made a quick roll of clean clothes and headed downstairs to my car. In the garage. A garage with doors. Electric doors. Closed electric doors. In the dark.

I was trapped. I sent my friend a message. She "texted" back that I was no Eagle Scout, which in fact I was, and I should just "push." Pushing did not work, but I finally climbed onto the top of my truck and opened the catch that held the door closed, and pushed the door up and out of the way. Escape made.

But the real trap of course was not the garage. This was absurd. I had lived at a time, and in countries, where electricity was intermittent if available at all.

What in the world had become of me? When was it exactly that servant become master? I mused on this as I headed down the road, wondering if I needed to be less dependent, or simply better prepared.