blackout

I’m 26 and scared of the dark. It’s silly and childish but I don’t like it when it’s dark. Which probably played a role in my becoming a photographer, who constantly looks for and works with light and sees light in many different ways. For me there is never ‘just’ light, it can have so many different colors and forms and feelings.
But back to the dark. We had a power outage the other night that lasted for about 40 minutes.
The kitties and I were home alone because my boyfriend was out with the guys.

The whole block was out of power. It’s funny to see how people react to power outages in the city. There is the stage of confusion, the searching for the fuse box, the going out on the street to see if others have the same problem, the talking excitedly with neighbours. Then, when it becomes obvious that the power will be gone a while, everyone settles down. Candles are lit.

You’re suddenly out of things to do and wander aimlessly about the rooms (or in my case, start listening to every sound in case an axe murderer is trying to break in).

I sat down on the couch and watched the candle and when the light went back on all of a sudden it was glaring and startling and harsh.
While I am very thankful for electricity, I do wonder what life was like when the day was defined by sun light or lack of it. Our evenings sure would be a lot different, a lot calmer and a lot less hectic, by candle light.
We have candles in every nook and corner, but I simply forget to light them. I resolved to remind myself more often.

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8 thoughts on “blackout

  1. KKHPhotos.com

    I’m one of those who looks out and around the neighborhood to see if everyone lost power or if it was just me. Then I dig out the candles and and think of all the things I could be doing if the lights would just come back on. I would not have made it back in the old west. 🙂 Love that first shot of the kitty watching the flame!

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    1. tidytipsy

      Haha, neither would I! Isn’t it interesting that our lives come to a complete halt without electricity? And it’s only been around for like 200 years or so!

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  2. Amber

    Um, you’re not alone. I’m 31 and I am also afraid of the (unexpected) dark. 🙂

    I can appreciate a powerless evening by choice, but an outage sends me into a panic for so many reasons, usually because it takes a pretty awful storm to knock ours out for any substantial time…

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    1. tidytipsy

      Oh, that sounds bad about the storms. We do have some storms in spring, but not yet this year thank God. We do get the odd power outage for no apparent reason from time to time though.

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