Serving the High Plains
QCS Columnist
This past weekend the county was blessed with the wonderful gift of moisture from storms that decided we all needed to get wet and that some of us needed to sit in the dark.
The lights went out, not in Georgia but for parts of Quay County. For these residents, the power went out at around 7 p.m., and that meant no prime time television.
My friends and I looked at each other and decided to go to town to get some candles and on the way, take a look at Pajarito Creek and other waterways to see how they were flowing.
Mind you, the rain, was still coming down pretty heavily and there were several deep, massive bodies of water that covered the county roads that we decided to travel.
I had a camera with me and took some pictures as the truck we were in blasted through the puddles. This of course came with a lesson in both physics and common sense. One should not have the back window of a crew cab all the way down when driving through a massive puddle.
Needless to say, I got wet but the camera was saved from the onslaught of mud. Nonetheless, it took two attempts before I concluded I should roll the window up.
I then decided it would be better to get out of the truck to take video of the rushing waters of Pajarito Creek, but lightning flashed overhead and thunder reminded me I should get back into the vehicle.
I obliged Mother Nature's kind suggestion and returned to the truck and our merry group proceeded on to our journey and procured candles for the evening.
We didn't know how long the power was going to be out, but we figured having the windows open would allow a cool breeze to enter the house, the Skittles fruit candles would light the room enough and the citronella candles would keep the mosquitoes at bay.
You all are probably fully aware that the blessing of the rains has also created ideal conditions for the spawning of one of our favorite pests, the mosquito. The wonderfully annoying buzz of the winged blood-sucker lets you know that it is not only humid, but you are a prime source for food and will soon be itching to find bug repellent.
With the winds and rain, however, the little blood fairies were hiding and it turned out to be a rather pleasant evening sitting on the porch with my friends. Just as we thought the rains had stopped, the rumble of another approaching storm grew louder with the passing minutes, and I could not help but think of the Eurythmics song "Here Comes the Rain Again.”
You probably thought I was going to go with B.J. Thomas' song “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.”
In this case, however, the first song worked better because I was thinking that the rain meant the power was going to be out longer and while technology let us have music in the dark, the absence of power was still very noticeable.
Don't get me wrong, I had a wonderful time in the dark playing cards with my friends and singing along to the music, they are a talented group of singers, in fact they do awesome performances when we play karaoke on the XBOX. As for myself, well, let’s just say I'm not in line for a recording contract anytime soon, or anytime at all in fact.
With the blackout I couldn't help but think about my childhood in Nara Visa. Now, when the power went out during a storm, my sister and I would play slapjack, a game to which my hands are still recovering sensation. My sister may have had the fastest hands in the West at that time, or at least the deadliest. I may have managed to beat her a couple times but believe me when I say it came at a price, a red, stinging, sometimes bruising price.
Those times in the darkness were some of the best times, though. We weren't fighting about what to watch on the T.V. She was very much into MTV's The Real World and Lifetime Movies. I, on the other hand, was more about sports, anime, and if it was going to be MTV, I preferred it be music videos.
I'm sure the blackouts provided my mom with some sort of relief. She could sit in her chair watching her little black and white battery-powered TV not missing a moment of Hee Haw, Guiding Light or Dallas.
Thinking back there were a few times I looked up at my mother and she was smiling, though I don't think it was because of the programs she was watching. I think she was smiling because as she watched, she could her the sound of cards flipping, laughter and and an occasional karate slap as a jack was dealt.
Thomas Garcia is a senior writer at the Quay County Sun. He can be reached at [email protected]