Where Were You When the Lights Went Out?

A 1968 movie bore that title. Here's the plot summary from www.imdb.com: "When the Great Northeast Blackout of 1965 hit, millions of people were left in the dark, including Waldo Zane, a New York executive in the process of stealing a fortune from his company, and two people whose paths he's destined to cross, Broadway actress Margaret Garrison and her husband, Peter." A few years ago I went to Snow Basin with some friends. In this ski area east of Ogden, Utah, my friends snow-boarded, and I tried to snow-board. I was only able to turn one direction, which meant I could only traverse the slope by falling down each time around. Suddenly the ski lift stopped working - - the power was out. Everyone went to the lodge, and people started to leave when it became clear the power might not come back on for some time. A tree had fallen against a power line. I was a passenger in my friend's car. As we drove down the two-lane road, she suddenly lost control as the car began to slide on ice. I thought were going over the edde of the cliff, but we were saved when we collided with a truck. The irony was rich. We had hit the truck sent by the power company to restore eletricity to Snow Basin. I went to a stake conference session last night in Weston (NOTE: For my non-LDS readers, a "stake" is made up of about 6 to 8 "wards", and typically totals about 2,000 people. Every 6 months, there is a stake conference. There are several meetings, but the ones of greatest addendance are an adult session on Saturday evening, and a general session on Sunday). I pulled into the parking lot of a stake center in Weston, and was impressed at the darkness of the entire place. I entered the building, and learned that the power was out in Weston. Boston was hit by an early snow storm Saturday. In Weston a tree had collapsed, falling against power lines, knocking the power out. The entire two hour session was held in relative darkness - - dim lights powered by emergency batteries provided very little light. Someone retrieved a lantern from their car, and this was used to provide light for speakers at the pulpit. There was no sound system, so the speakers had to project their voices. We heard from a young man who had joined the LDS Church within the last year, a young woman who teaches seminary to youth each weekday at 6 am, a truck driver from Alabama who joined the Church in 1990 but only in the last two years became fully active, a young mother sharing her experiences with Church callings, and a stake leader. We sang congregational hymns and heard wonderful musical numbers from violinists, pianists, and two choirs. With no light with which to meaningfully view anything but the main participants, there was perhaps and enhanced focus on the music and the messages. It was a great evening, and I think the absence of electrical light actually helped us leave a little more englightened.