Poof! It goes

The electricity went out suddenly. Poof! And we were immersed in darkness – not total, for beyond the walls of the compound, we could see the glare of white lights reflecting into the night sky.

I sat still and grabbed my handbag close. Just in case.

In a room down the hall, children screamed in mock horror (I assumed) . I sat silent, not saying a word, except for the initial exclamation: “Allaaaah!”

Around the room, women shone the screens of their mobile phones to light the space around them.

One woman started to give thanks for all that we had in Kuwait and how unimaginable life would be without electricity.

Another woman murmured: “This was our situation in Lebanon this summer. The electricity would go off for hours!”

Then, for the lack of anything more inspiring, they started to wonder who to bless, the man who had invented electricity.

So a couple of voices shouted Newton.

So much for  your college education, ladies.

I was going to say something fanciful: like,  it’s alien technology, ladies. But then I would be blasphemous. I didn’t mention Tesla. I thought Edison would be a more familiar household name.

Ah, they exclaimed! Yes, yes, Edison. Bless him. Where would we have been without him?

When the lights went on again, there were squeals of delight. The air conditioners started up again. The television was staring at us once more from the corner. And half the women had their heads bent over a Blackberry, an iPhone, or a humble Nokia mobile as they resorted to communicating with people who were only in their virtual world.

And I resorted to munching on the smoked sunflower seeds with thoughtful vengeance.

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