Let There Be Light

Isn’t it a quirk of human nature, that we don’t really appreciate what we have until it is suddenly not there any more? Here in Thailand, you can get most of the mod cons, not like 40 so years ago when it still had traces of the old Siam. One of those timeless things is frequent blackouts during monsoon/rainy season. It rains all day, constantly non-stop except for small gaps of perhaps half an hour, wherein, if you are fortunate, you might get your clothes about half dry in that quick smile of the sun. Suddenly there is the distant rumble of thunder – the power blacks out.

You would think that, with this being a frequent occurence, we would be well prepared. Well, we do have flashlights/torches (and batteries); candles and matches; hurricane lamps etc. Yet, nothing prepares you for being in sudden blackness, the void of light enveloping you.

Immediately I become like a mother hen, ‘clucking’ and ‘gathering her chicks in’. Mustering a calm voice I call the younger ones names urging them to come carefully towards the sound of my voice, reaching out and grasping whatever limb or body part I first make contact with, be it hair, nose, ear, hand or foot. After finding one, I don’t let go, but continue groping and calling till all bodies are accounted for during all the “who turned the lights off” and “oh no I was just in the middle of….” Or “The computers … Pull the plugs!” “I’m scared!!” Amidst all this, I am trying to quench the little ones’ fear of the notorious dark…”It’s ok, it’s only a blackout, the house is still the same, nothing’s changed, there is nothing that is going to hurt you….just be calm and patient.” The teenagers and young adults of course, answer to the ‘roll call’, a necessity with a large family - you can’t just ‘count heads’ in a blackout can you?! Besides, rumour has it that ‘counting heads’ is not such an accurate calculator under any circumstance. (Have you ever seen ‘Home Alone’?)

Now, a blackout can last from as little as a few minutes to as long as several hours. With my ‘chicks’ all hemmed in, and while waiting for Hubby or one of the older kids to find the emergency lighting , and to the sound of drawers and cupboards opening and closing, I have become quite a pro at conjuring activities and games to play when you can’t even see your own hand in front of your face.

It all depends on the length of the blackout. The first being the counting game, counting until the lights come on, though this usually stops after we count up to about 500. The next one, figuring out who is sitting near us by ‘feeling’ their face if it can be found (it’s a glorified version of ‘blind-man’s bluff” and “pin the tail on the donkey” rolled into one). Next is the ‘discussion group’ talking about cause and effect; about who is able to get the power back on; what we would do once the power came back on etc. Believe me this can lead to a ‘million’ other topics. Great for teaching….you undoubtedly hold a captive audience here!

Once you have exhausted all of the above, you realize you are in for the long haul. Hubby then steps in with his famous ‘Sleep’ order. Everyone settles in for a hot and clammy night. With me and Hubby on ‘night watch’ keeping the hand fans going and sponging sweaty heads, all of us nodding off eventually and then, at some odd hour of the early morning we are rudely awakened by a dazzle of light in our faces, the TV blaring, and the hum of machinery warming up – the power is back on at last. Yay!!!

The shortest blackout I have come to experience is when I looked up towards my Lord and prayed: “I wish I could say “Let there be light….”. The lights instantly turned on! I could feel His Smile. Today looking back, it seems I was allowed that liberty only the once, but it brings a smile to my face whenever a blackout happens along. A candle glows in my heart that will never go out.

Rebecca Laklem. Copyright 2007.