Lights Out, Laguna Niguel.

It was a mildly breezy and calm summer night. Out of nowhere "it" sprang upon us like a three legged kitten on a wounded cricket. Yes, I am speaking of the dreaded Orange County Rolling Blackout! Ok, so it really wasn't as dramatic as I make it seem but Ive gotten this far so I may as well make it interesting for the both of us. To be quite honest it was a planned outage, we knew about it for a month, only we forgot it was happening until about 5 minutes before ground zero. Whats a guy to do but light up a candle or two, sit on the couch in silence, and revel in the splendor of this mini dark age that has been thrust upon him. His only company, a blind cat who's only thought is how to get back to the safety of his owners bed without the sound of the saltwater fish tank to guide him. Ah...the silence, which lasts only for a minute until a car alarm goes off, opens up time for events and activities only hours ago deemed not worthy to complete. Finally, the litter box can be changed, the dusty acoustic can be tuned...and played, cups and dishes transported to the kitchen, and a bed could be made. I stood on the porch for a while, staring into the stars that are usually not visible from my neighborhood, and made silent plans to myself now that the most important things I thought the world had to offer me had temporarily deceased. "I should walk the pier more late at night", "I need to write more birthday and holiday cards to family and friends", "I need to make more time for myself". All of these plans put on hold as a chill in the air brought me back inside. What do I find but my trusty old phone. At least you didnt let me down. I broke the silence with a text message, maybe to prove that all was not lost. A response! Another! Now a late night photo session with the cat. I seem a little more excited than I should over things so mundane. Once again, the planets align and the world is as it should be. Lights on!