Thinking

 By: L Jones

 …and then there was darkness.

Last night the power abruptly went out sometime around 9pm. I was lying in the bed watching television and surfing the net, when all of a sudden, darkness. I thought, maybe it was from the strong winds that had been harassing the area all day. The winds had been blowing since early that morning, so I was a bit surprised that it had finally affected the power at this time of night.

My mind shifted focus and I thought about the $300+ I just spent on groceries that evening. It irritated me a minute; mind shifted once more to the recession, my lack of savings, bills, money wasted, President Obama, the Iraq war; you get the picture.

At this point, everyone in the house was up and about looking for flashlights and candles. I just laid in bed, staring into the darkness; trying to get my night eyes. Look long enough into the darkness and your eyes will try and make since of it as best it can. If there is no light, your mind’s eyes will create light. Then the real thoughts started.

What if this was a long time power outage, or perhaps a permanent one? What if the lights never came back on? How would mankind make sense of this darkness? Of course there would be immediate mass hysteria, panic and chaos, but I considered more long term effects. Once the initial shock of this significant life altering event had passed and a new reality set in, what would be our response to this realization?

My thoughts were momentarily interrupted by the loud humming sound of chainsaws. My mind, through rational deduction concluded that a tree must have fallen on a power line or something. The darkness wouldn’t be permanent after all; the lights would come back on. No spoiled food, no mass chaos; I smiled on my mind’s face. But it was still dark and those earlier thoughts of man’s response to a new reality resurfaced. What if the lights never came back on? What if?

I fell asleep.