The other night as we ate our regular rice and veggie dinner, my roommate and I suddenly found ourselves in the dark. Out went the lights, silent went the radio, and the nice cool breeze from the fan was no more. After the first few seconds and the moaning of realization of what just occurred passed, we found ourselves faced with one another's presence. What are two to talk about? Well...we talked about our childhoods, our families, our soon-to-end Christmas vacation, and even took turns singing our favorite songs.

As I was laying in bed that night, (the music back on and fan keeping me cool), I thought about how such a thing as electricity has not only the potential to bring entertainment (i.e. television and radio) and comfort (i.e. air conditioning and lighting) into our lives, but also it has the potential to make other things in our lives (i.e. people) sometimes vanish.

Needless to say, something that I used to get upset about, something that maybe plays too big a part of our lives, seems to be less important now. Hopefully the power will go out again soon, but this time I hope it finds me already talking with friends.--John

============================:)up-the:(=================================

John H. Hobgood
c/o USIS
P.O. Box 9170
Dar es Salaam
TANZANIA
(East Africa)
Hobgood@udsm.ac.tz

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First Online Edition: 22 July 1997
Last Revised: 18 May 2024