Every year, the power goes out here in snowy, rainy, windy New England. Hundreds of thousands of homes lose electricity, ours being one of them. I learned something during the ice storm that crippled our area for over a week.
My mother-in-law lives a couple of towns away…alone. So we had her come over right away. My daughter and her boyfriend called to say they were at his mother’s house, so they were safe! But as soon as they heard that we had ENTERTAINMENT, they came right over. It was fun to have everyone “camping” in our home.
I have a gas stove, so I was able to cook. We have a gas fireplace, so there was ambiance and some heat to one room. The generator provided heat and hot water to the rest of the house. It’s funny what you decide you value when you have to pick and choose what to turn on and what to live without.
We have an electricity cleaner. (The “dirty electricity” coming from the generator can’t power electronics which are too apt to be damaged by energy with surges.) So, we had to decide on one electronic item to use with the electricity cleaner.
The choice was easy! My husband powered up the movie room and suddenly we had stories. We watched one comedy and one drama. Before we knew it, the day had flown by and we were that much closer to having normalcy restored.
What is it about stories we love so much? I remember hearing something Michael Creighton said several years ago. He believed that no matter how bad things got, people would still need entertainment. During WWII, dance halls sprung up all over Europe. Native Americans from long ago would sit around a campfire and tell stories. The traveling bard in medieval times was valued for the entertainment he brought and was fed for the price of his gift. (That’s where the term ‘singing for your supper’ came from.)
So, the point of this rambling post (and I did have one) is to highlight just how important storytellers are. Without us pulling new ideas from our imaginations and experiences, the world would be a boring place. I hope all authors realize their value. Sometimes I think we forget how much we’re needed. We’re more apt to judge brain surgeons or research scientists as important people–but even they need entertainment.
I’d love it if you’d check out my books. I have mass market paperbacks, trade paperbacks, and for those ridiculous blackouts, everything I write is available in ebook, which you can read in the dark on your hand-held reading device!
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