Yesterday we were without power for almost 9 hours. It was almost funny to me because my optometrist and I were talking about electricity just the day before. Fortunately, the power went out at about 2am, so we slept through the majority of it. Of course none of the alarm clocks were able to disturb us with that obnoxious sound as they do day in and day out. We still managed to wake up. I guess routine will do that to you. That�s when you begin to realize how dependent on electricity we really are. You have to shower and dress in the dark and forget about using a hair dryer. Want breakfast? Not happening on this electric stove. Want to get in your car to leave? Not if it�s parked in the garage with an electric garage door opener. How about an update on the electricity coming back on? Nope. No television or radio. How about making a call? Could be done but we have cordless phones which require electricity. Oh! We have our cell phones. Thank God for cell phones. But wait. When the electricity went out, the phones stopped charging. Getting cold in the rainy weather? Better find the blankets because the heater can�t come on either. Bored? Surf the net. Nope, that�s electric, too. I found myself almost praying for the return of electricity. If it didn�t come on soon, we could forget about lunch; Still no stove or microwave. It got me to thinking; do I pity the Amish or do I admire them? This is their way of life every single day. They go without electricity and many other modern conveniences and yet they thrive. I don�t grasp how they do it. I had just a tiny taste of it and I was on the verge of losing my sanity and it could have been worse. It could have happened right after sunset. That would have meant sitting in very dim candlelight. You can�t even read by candlelight. And it would have been much colder at night. You just don�t realize how many things are taken for granted on a daily basis. This is a very spoiled generation in which we live. We freak out when we don�t have our modern technologies to get us through a couple hours. The Amish have lived hundreds of years this way, and they go without more than electricity. Their only source of transportation is their feet or their horse drawn carriage. They build their homes with the tools that were made by the sweat and blood of their hands. They build their own furniture and grow and hunt their own food. Their source of heat is a wood-burning stove. Even the firewood comes from their own labor. They deliver their children on their own in these homes. No doctors, no epidurals, no warm, cozy hospital beds. It�s unreal. Yet when we face the possibility of missing a soap opera because of the power being out, it�s almost as if our world is coming to a crashing halt. But even the Amish have it good compared to the people sleeping on our streets. Their only luxury, and this is only for a very few, is a shopping cart that contains their entire life. They go without technology, heat, a roof over their head and food more often than any living thing ever should have to. I don�t think many people ever stop to think of how it would be to walk a mile in their mismatched, tattered shoes. I know they don�t. If they did, then they would not think twice about giving them a dollar for a warm cup of coffee or a small bite to eat. They wouldn�t call the cops every time they saw a homeless person sleeping in a doorway�s shelter to a building that is either closed for the night or closed permanently. They wouldn�t walk the other way when a homeless person is in their path. They wouldn�t make fun of them or cruelly judge them for not having a job. You have to have a physical address to have a job. Do you ever think of that? Do you ever think what it would be like to be so misfortunate? I think we can all afford to do that. Maybe the world would be just a little kinder.
This entry brought to you by Poison's "Something to Believe in"
"I drive by the homeless sleeping on a cold, dark street/Like bodies in an open grave/ Underneath a broken ol' neon sign/ That used to read 'Jesus Saves'/ A mile away live the rich folk and I see how they're livin' it up/ While the poor man eats from hell's mouth/ The rich're drinkin' from the golden cup/ And it just makes me wonder why so many lose and so few win"