The Night the Lights Went Out

Okay, the afternoon the lights went out. Don't get picky.

Today there was a total power outage in large parts of Los Angeles, my hometown. I was at work after three days of staying home sick, and from 1:00 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. or so I was stuck on the 43rd floor of this high-rise, listening to my stomach complain because I hadn't had lunch and the elevators, of course, weren't working.

It's funny what goes through your mind at a time like that. My mood was crummy anyway, because I was hungry and congested and so on, and I sent a mental complaint to God because this was not what I needed.

Then I started thinking about my family, most of whom live in the San Fernando Valley where the blackout hit first. The building phones were out, but my cell phone worked, and I finally reached my brother, who was able to tell me that as far as he knew everyone was all right. Thank God for technology, yeah?

Then I started wondering why this blackout hit in the first place. It's September 12, and a few days ago some supposedly American al-Qaeda twat threatened Los Angeles and Australia (what a team) with terrorist attack. But then, I wondered, if the terrorists who destroyed the World Trade Center had Los Angeles in mind, why would they come up with such a complex plot? Cut off the power to the San Fernando Valley so the Department of Water and Power has to re-route electricity through its substations and cut off power to downtown for a while in the process?

Then the lights came back on and I went to lunch, and felt a lot better. I'll bet everyone else did, too.

Benshlomo says, I hope we get to feel better for a while yet.