The Horror!

It’s a Monday night. 7:48pm. The sky is a dusky overcast, and all is as usual inside the house. The teenagers are merrily camped out in front of computer screens, television sets, and video games while I’m up in The Fort, fruitfully spending time on face book.

Then, without warning….

….. lights flicker ….

...... Scream emits from somewhere downstairs .......


*The room goes pitch black*


“THE POWER IS OUT!!!!”


Another scream - “THERE’S. NO. INTERNET!!!” (no, it wasn’t me! Surprisingly.)

Ellie - “But I need to use the bathroom!”
Amanda - “There’s STILL no internet!”
Celia - “Why don’t you guys just go to bed?!”
Ellie - “It’s only 7:30!”
Faith - “How do you know?!””

Ellie creeps out into the hall, timidly calling out “Amanda?? Where are you?” as though lost alone in the forest at night. Faith finds mining-hat like light, straps it across her forehead, and ventures out into the darkened house - mostly to show everyone else her headlight so they can be jealous. Ellie calls random friend to ascertain that their power is out as well., because who can be bothered to look out the window across the street?

TJ - “Let’s go to a movie!”
Celia - “The power could be out there as well!”
Faith - “Dude, I would be SO pissed if that happened to me! Not risking it!”
Billy - *snores*
*random crash*
Billy - “I’m awake!”
TJ - “Flashlight!”
Billy - *snores*

Gizmo the ferret dog is confused by the darkness and loud noises of people talking and walking (suddenly much louder without the attic fan, room fans, heating, and television noises to mask it) and growls continually while Ellie and Amanda discuss the horrifying possibility of having to shower in the dark (no towel heater!).

“But…but what do we do?”


So, what DO children do in these modern times without electricity? Read a book by candlelight? Tell ghost stories, go outside and engage in some kind of three-dimensional sporting activity, or, heaven forbid, with the absence of constant electronic stimulation, be forced to actually talk to one another in some sort of family bonding time?

The answer is, of course, is that they talk on their cell phones and watch movies on their portable DVD players! Because those were thankfully charged.

Crisis averted. But it was close.

Besides being confused as to what does and doesn’t work without electricity, and hitting up the parents for Itouches (because THOSE would still work without power…so long as they were charged), we got through the power-outage just fine.

Until I realized that I was missing Heroes.

THE HORROR!!!!!


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Of the Moments:

Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY
Song - "1,2,3,4" - Plain White T's
Quote - Ellie's "But I have to use the bathroom!" during a power outage (see above)