How Much Do We Depend On Electricity?

Today, after I turned my computer on and put a load of clothes in the washing machine the power went out. I went outside and it’s a beautiful blue sunny day. I then check all the circuit breakers inside and outside and see that nothing is in the off position. The little wheel on the electric meter is not running.

I wait 15 minutes and fumble through the phone book trying to find the phone number for the electric company. My vision, not like it was, finds this task extremely frustrating plus phone books put information in places that are wedged between sports arenas and stuff that I would never find a use for. I call and go through all of the "listen to options" select electric power out and am told to call back later for an estimate of when the power will be back on.

I think about the clothes in the washing machine. I think it was on the rinse cycle or almost rinsed and remember when I lived in an apartment with my twin babies. I was always trying to be frugal and when packing up two babies to go to a laundromat was not always possible I would wash the diapers by hand and hang them up in the bathroom.

Today, our water supply leaves a lot to be desired so I bring home water from work and have at least 10 gallons of water set aside. I rinsed out the clothes and after one rinse I knew the rinsing was not going well and my hands would hurt later. I go outside and hang up a clothesline between the trees.

Back inside to get the clothes, the electricity came back on. Immediately I put the clothes in the washer and set it to rinse and spin. And then I put them in the dryer and sat down to write this. The dryer is on less than 10 minutes and the electricity goes out again. I hung the clothes on the clothesline. When I came back in, the power was on.

What would I do without electricity? I ponder this alot and would relish the opportunity to explore living off the land. My husband does not share this enthusiasm, not yet anyway. My one thing that I would like to do before I die is to ride a bicycle and/or walk across the country. I would like to experience sleeping under the stars, having the time to look at things. I would like to make new friends along the way. I would like to forage for food, fish, hunt and cook over burning wood.

I turn the page and there is the microwave to heat up my leftovers. The never-ending computer that is my lifeline to the world. Would I give it up? Yes, I would.

Why? Because I went through Boot Camp and for the duration I learned to live with other people, learned priorities, and the only possessions I had were my clothes. I learned more from being in the military than anything else in life.

It’s time to stop complaining, get off the couch and do SOMETHING!