This morning we woke up to a planned power outage. I forgot that is was set for May first.. One of our hallways is very dark so I reached for the switch and the light did not turn on. I thought it was a light bulb. I went on my merry way.. It was not until after my first cup of coffee that I noticed that the clock on our oven was not displaying the time. It took me a while to realize that this was our power outage day scheduled between 8-3 pm. That meant that I would not be able to use the blow dryer or the straightener on my hair, nor be able to use the iron. I use an iron every day that I work to iron my slacks and blouses. I planted a few herbs that we had purchased over the weekend, did some watering and even sat in the sun for a while and did nothing but close my eyes and relaxed. How nice it was! After that I felt compelled to prop my feet up on the coffee table and catch some news on the television.. Oops! No tv.. It really made me think about how dependent I am on just being able to click this or that on each and every day. Not being able to check my email and checkout WordPress blogs could be enough to send me into a quick withdrawal symptoms. So thank you Mr. Thomas Edison….We have indeed come very far from the days of your inventions and discoveries. About two weeks ago the city of San Bernardino celebrated their annual Railroad Train Days. I thought the following photo was appropriate for a day without electricity…
In Other Words and Pictures 
Thank you for this beautiful post, Roberta. It is certainly important that we remember how much electricity has changed our lives. Of course, when there is a power outage, we are in a much inferior situation to that of our forbearers who had a lot of tools that we no longer have, because they have been replaced by electrical devices and then forgotten. But the last 150 years have really changed the world. And now with the computer, we are watching another such change. I believe it is similar to the introduction of electricity into the lives of man. Very dramatic. And the changes seem to be coming faster and faster.
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Thank you..Shimon!It’s a good idea to have candles and such on hand.I appreciate your comment!
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Sometimes electricity seems like a gigantic miracle…and especially after long power outages!
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Yes, indeed!
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Yes, electricity sure is important to us, but we should never forget what it is like without it. Sometimes during winter storms we lose our power and I rather enjoy sitting by our wood stove with an oil lantern going. Fortunately we are not entirely dependent on it.
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We may experience losing power up here…but we have backup as well too.
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Cuando pasan estas cosas, nos damos cuenta de lo que representa para nosotros la electricidad y lo que dependemos de ella.
La fotografía retrospectiva es una preciosidad
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Thank you Mercedes for your comment.. (:
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Wow! A planned outage for 7 hours. That is dramatic. I can live without much of our modern inventions but refrigeration is something I feel that I cannot go without. I’d probably have to have a generator just so we could open the refrigerator. 🙂
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I think we all would get by for awhile….
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An excellent post. Yes we are so very dependent on electricity. Its strange that when we don’t have the use of electricity it almost feels like we’ve gone into an unlighted primitive cave where we’ve forgotten how to make a fire.
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Thank you..Terry! What would we do without being able to listen to music. I’m sure we would get creative..
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Love that great old photo. I do the same things every time the power goes out around here. I still try to switch something on! Creatures of habit and comfort we are. Thank you Thomas Edison for sure!
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Thank you..Ellen, I was thankful to have a pair of pants that didn’t need ironing.. Lol!
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Here in Finland losing electricity in winter is hard thing. Last winter it happened to us. Happily it lasted only 11 hours. We did not have so big problem, because we were prepared for some power cuts. We have huge capacitive fireplace which we warm by wood; it is giving warm during two days. We have a rechargeable lantern full of energy, two headlamps. A radio which operates with battery is important to receive latest news.
This happened after a blizzard. In some places electricity break lasted more than one week. Many farmers are equipped to own the power plant. For example, milking cows could be huge problem.
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It sounds like preparation is very important.. We too have a fireplace now so it will help out during the winter. Thank you Sartenada for your comment. I so enjoy your blog and photos..
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