An emergency candle in the dark

Thursday the 2nd of March, and Yes, it's only 2017 despite the many thousands of centuries of history. It's a bit before 6AM, it’s dark outside and at the time the Sawdustmaker wants to make a second cup of coffee, it’s dark inside too. Just before the electronic spark would inflame the gas stove, the went power off, an event that more often re-occurs on the lonely Hill. The dependence on, other than the water that comes out of the faucet, electricity is painfully obvious, if not only through the bottom my foot that steps on a sharp gnawed bone on the kitchen floor, between me and the table on which the candles are. With the disappearance of light, contact with the outside world also disappears, the time on the clock radio stops and, perhaps the most uncomfortable consequence, the electric blanket cools off as if it was Vanessa May on a German carnival. It takes maybe a minute to get used to the chill, to light a candle, expressing a few strong curses on the encounter with a bone and to find a parcel of Fosforos de Madera, also known as Svalan, De Zwaluw, Golondrina, Schwalbe, or Swallow matches. Just at the moment that the red head on the wooden stick ignites, the phone charger beeps, old fluorescent lighting starts up by blinking in rhythm and a world-strange  positive commercial by some autistic politician comes out of the speaker, connected to the satellite receiver on which we listen to the Dutch Radio1. One thing is for sure, the “off or on” switching of electricity takes much less time than the start-up of a 50+ year old body with squeaky hinges and worn out resistors on the circuit board. The urge for simplicity, less dependence and a clearer horizon is getting bigger, the desire for, both mental and physical, rest a real longin and the will power to detect and repair hidden defects less and less. Leaving the broken just shattered as long as the beauty is not compromised and let nature use her talent on all that has lost functionality turns out to be a soothing thought. The lonely Hill may slowly have to make place for a sheltered spot in the Valley. Simplicity, as the ultimate goal of perfection, may need to be hunted down and we might need to start accepting imperfections as the basis for happiness. It requires the discovery of other talents, find the overgrown paths and the acceptance that time is only time, not money, as is claimed in a world full of performance analysis. The future remains uncertain, well, with the exception of a third cup of coffee and what concoctions that are shared with the rest of the world. Actually, that's the quest, find shelter without having to put up a wall....