Silence. Serious moonlight. The night Fort Erie went dark (Power company turned off all power to the municipality for 8 hours to accomplish critical repairs). The night of the hugest full moon. No arc lights, no porch lights. No traffic lights. (No traffic) No street lights. From the loudest band in the smallest bar, Cinco de Mayo in full absurd swing on Allen Street and Electrorespect 5 at Nietzsche’s (Girl Power!!!) (chocolate chip cookies and friends); ears ringing, traffic on the streets and sidewalks, everywhere noisy drunks, flashing cop lights, loudness and brightness. Cruising along the thruway – little traffic but brightly lit, everywhere I look. Following the moon, or is it following me?
Crossing the Peace Bridge, looking to Canada – shoreline is inky blackness banded by moonlight – one inspection lane open, generator echoing in the chill night mist – minimum lighting in buildings, no light from the gigantic fixtures – and then no lights in Fort Erie at all.
Reflections from street signs and numbers and hazard stripes and who knew stop lights were surrounded by bright orange reflective rectangles? Nothing open; no gas stations, no restaurants, no Timmy’s!
My street – no light at all – except my astonishingly brilliant brights and the even brighter moon. Silence, except for muffled roar of the big transport trailers on the QEW. I hear them when I am out on the porch with the tripod trying to capture the moon. Only sound inside my house the answering machine, inexplicably hissing even after unplugging both the power and the phone jack. Kitties little shadowy forms, materializing here and there, puzzled by the lack of sound and light and me awake at 4am – wondering perhaps about the warm flickering of the oil lamps and the cold light of the LED lantern.
Loud purring. Keys clicking. Soft hissing (muffled under a sheepskin scuff). No radio, no Internet, no Facebook!!! (OMG) I am wide awake. Customs lady said it was creepy, no lights, darkness surrounding the plaza. I find it mystical, magical, marvelous – and most everyone else is sleeping sound(less)ly. I am wide awake.
As quiet as it usually is in my lovely woods (dark and deep), I use the flashlight to find batteries for the portable radio. Too quiet, too quiet. Tune in BBC. Eat a few of Carla’s Tootsie Rolls, brush my teeth, and feed the cats so I can sleep longer. Battery fading on the laptop. Go to bed, to sleep, perchance to dream….of the serious moonlight.
