Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Saturday, February 11, 2006
The big blackout of August 14, 2003
Lighten up, it’s Storytelling Saturday
Once upon a time...
Huddled around flickering candles and eating food before it could spoil, longtime neighbors introduced themselves, discovering similarities and answering the question of the day: “Where were you when the lights went out?” This was, of course, the big blackout of August 14, 2003.
When the power outage dimmed the mighty skyline, I could suddenly see stars...zillions of them blinking at me from beyond the unlit skyscrapers. Traffic lights were out of commission, but to the southeast, Mars provided the only red light we really needed. By odd coincidence, our crimson neighbor was closer to Earth than ever before and the blackout gave us Easterners an excellent view of Mars’s southern hemisphere from a mere 34.6 million miles away (34,646,418.5, but who can find a ruler in the dark?).
Still, even with the stars twinkling above and little green Martians close enough to reach out and shake my hand, it was when I returned my gaze back down to the streets that I truly couldn’t believe my eyes. Strolling through Astoria as the sun set that clammy evening one could witness a sight even more uncommon than any celestial spectacle. New Yorkers had abandoned their Space Age pace and begun listening to their Stone Age brains. All across the darkened city, Big Apple denizens stopped hustling. They sat still and talked to each other. No computers, no televisions, practically no telephones...just face-to-face communication (even if it was eventually too dark at times to actually see faces).
This unforeseen solidarity was accomplished without the assistance of e-mail, palm pilot, or fax machine. Money didn’t change hands...no air was conditioned. Under a sky full of stars and a visiting red space-mate, it was miraculously possible to re-connect to our more primitive roots and encounter the sort of life we may have evolved to live back in the “caveman” days.
Our modern caves, the subterranean tunnels of transportation known as “the subway,” were empty that night but the concrete jungle above them might as well have been the Savannah. The tribes of New York sat around fires, sharing food and communal stories. Some even beat on drums.
...and then the lights came back on.
The End
Post your story in the comments section
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Earlier in the week, Mudge sent me this:
Describe me in ONE WORD...just one word! Send it to me only, then send this message to your friends and see how many strange things people say about you! Just hit reply and send me my one word back. Then forward this message on to your friends (including me) and see what they say about you! GAME ON!
(P.S. My word for Mudge was: generous.)
Anyone else wanna play?
Copyright © 2005-2007 Mickey Z.
