Let There Be...Light!

Years ago in college, I was in a theater production called Children of Eden. It was a play that goes through the stories in the Bible from Adam to Noah. Now, I'm not going to get into particulars because I don't think this is the place to do that, either in favor or against. I am a romance writer with stranger quirks, not a religious teacher. Anyway, it was a fun show but not necessarily the most accurate according to the King James version of the Bible. Still, there was a line in one of the songs as God created the earth that said, "Let there be...light." So now, any time I think of that phrase or light in that regard, I can hear that line of the song. And often I will say (or sing) that line and no one gets it. So I had to explain myself. Thanks for humoring me!

Have you ever taken the time to stop and consider the part that electricity plays in your every day life? Kind of a silly thought. I know. But today, I showed up at work (I work at a bank) and noticed several bazaar things. Now at a bank, you always expect things to be the same. You rely on that because it means things are working well and in an organized manner. And nothing gives you comfort quite like the thought that everything is running smoothly at the organization that is holding your money.

Anyway, when I first walked in the doors, I noticed the gates had not lifted on the second floor. Strange. It is always open at 9. Also, the escalators going to the second floor were not working. Hmmm. But the elevator was.

I asked the gal at the front desk and she said they hadn’t had power all morning and that it had just barely turned on and the bank wasn’t supposed to be officially open until noon. (This was just before 11.) Naturally, everyone was still working, catching up on things, but by the time I got there, no one had anything to do and wished they had been allowed to go home and get a few things done. Of course, I was no different, but since the power was on, there was no reason for me not to stay.

But it is in situations like this that I think about how my life would function every day without the luxuries of electricity. I wouldn’t have my nice car with seat heaters, that’s for sure! I would have no bed lamp to read with at night. I would have no cell phone to play games on when the battery went dead, or call my husband, or check my email. Shoot, I wouldn’t have my computer for email or for writing. I’d be writing everything by hand. No wonder there weren’t many authors a hundred years ago!

So, while it may be a strange thought and something we often take for granted in our daily lives, today, I am profoundly grateful for the invention of electricity!