In the dark

The power went out last night. I'm not sure why, but it was out all around the city from about 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. And it didn't bother me too much.

There were no storms. No strong winds. No threatening situations. And the temperatures were in the low 50 to 40s, so we weren't afraid of freezing or sweating to death.

It was kind of fun.

We let the kids stay outside and play until 8:30 p.m. or so -- and it was a school night -- but all the neighborhood kids were out. The adults were out, too, coooking their meals on barbecue grills. Folks were actually talking to each other.

After we put the kids to bed and the sun set completely, the darkness was all encompassing. Clouds covered the moon and stars. We had flashlights and candles, but the blackness was intimidating. How strange to look out the front window and see nothing but black.

Again, I wasn't scared. I trust the community we live in and we have a 100-pound dog -- a security system that works even when the power doesn't.

When I let the dogs out one last time, I was amazed how much illumination a flashlight gives when confronted by a moonless night. Its beam seemed to reach for blocks through the town.

I have a hand-crank radio, so Jayne and I listened for a while to hear about the outage, but nothing was reported.

It was nice to talk by battery-powered light with no TV or computer.

Thought: Better to light a candle than curse the darkness. Better yet to go to bed.