It’s a dark and stormy night in Big Rapids. All that can be heard is the howling wind and torrential rain pounding on rooftops. Most of the town has settled in for the night, comfortably warm and dry inside their homes. Then, suddenly, the lights go out. And everyone loses their minds.
Let me clear this up without the theatrics: the number of people that throw a fit when their power goes out is ridiculous. It seems like their first instinct is to get on Facebook with their phone and make a post about how crappy their life will be for the next few hours.
You don’t have lights? Get some candles and a flashlight. You don’t have water? Maybe you should’ve listened to the people that told you to keep bottled water on hand for emergency situations. You don’t have heat? Better suit up in that North Face parka and some earmuffs. You can’t use the stove or microwave? Looks like it’s cereal for dinner. You. Will. Survive.
Clearly, I have absolutely zero sympathy for people who think that power outages are the end of modern civilization. I have even less tolerance for those who think that restoring power to a neighborhood is as easy as a flip of a switch. Don’t even get me started on that one. You didn’t blow the town’s breaker. Restoring power takes time.
Now, there’s also the issue of boredom during power outages. Lord have mercy on our souls. Let me help you out a bit.
Play a few rounds of Euchre with your roommates. Do some yoga and relax. Spend some quality time with your pet. Read a book by candlelight. An actual book with characters and a plot. Not that textbook malarkey. Take a nap for a few hours. You’re always telling people how much you need one anyway.
Power outages are inconvenient. There’s no denying that. But it’s really not as big of a deal as it’s made out to be. It’s a much bigger deal for the people who have to spend countless overtime hours fixing what those storms destroyed.
So, if you’re not willing to leave your warm, cozy bed at 3 a.m. and head out into the wind and rain to go help restore power to all of your surrounding counties and then some, you’d best not complain that you don’t have power.