Pretending Everything's Fine

Tonight when we heard about the power outages all up and down the East Coast, but NOT here in Boston, I went about my basic parenting job -- pretending everything is fine. My son and I walked over to visit friends and as he played with the kids, I chatted with the grown-ups speculating on what the night would bring.

I had been in LA for the riots and I remember a few long, long days -- smelling the city burning through the night -- seeing the fires and watching the civil unrest on tv during the day, when we were essentially grounded despite it being a Tuesday, a Wednesday and a Thursday if I recall. It was like a snow day ... sort of. I remember exactly where I was when I heard the verdict and the riots started -- on the studio lot at Paramount Pictures. My husband called me to warn me to get home right away. With all the earthquakes, it wasn't like we were unaccustomed to stopping dead in our tracks as a city. We knew how to grind to a halt.

And all of this came to mind tonight, the potential for looting, the possibility of riots. But I don't think that's what's going to happen. I think people will get a nice long weekend and the power will come back, but none of us will miss how dependent we are on electricity. As I watch my son sleeping peacefully with his nightlight lit, the airconditioning blowing a cool breeze, the computer making a faint hum, the fridge full of cold drinks, the freezer filled with ice cream, the phone recharging in her little cradle, I see we are a lightning bolt away from cave-dwelling -- hot, insecure, uncomfortable, unwired cave-dwelling. And I have to say, civilization kindof grows on you. It's tough to have it vanish in the blink of an eye.