Darkness ‘cross de land!
Well, weekend done and yet anodda week of work is here. Must say that I looking forward to the end of this one as my boss will be back next week, meaning that there will be less crosses for my rather broad back 
to bear, and I not on call Friday/Saturday dis week. Anyway, wah dis haffi do wid darkness? Not a rass really, but when it comes to what is written here, I rule!
Anyway, on Saturday evening at about 4:15 PM, I was chilling in my boxers in my bed, propped up on two pillows, fan keeping my family jewels cool while switching channels with the trusty remote in my hand. All was cool, I had finished my chores for the day and was relaxing a bit before I would head to the kitchen to cook up some pork chops that had already been seasoned from the day before, when poof…..fan stop blow, TV screen inna blackness! Me cuss two blurdcleat as I realize we having a power cut. Well, I assumed that perhaps in a twenty minutes or so things would be back from darkness. Nope. Luckily, as you may be well aware, days dem long now, so it was still very much daylight outside. I decided to make use of the ambient light coming through the windows to cook up the swine, as it looked like light was not guranteed, and I wasn’t going to mek gas tek up mi belly. So, I got cooking.
‘Bout half way through my cooking, the cell rings….is one o mi bredrin….”My yute, you have light?” “Not a rass rude bwoy. Deh yah a cook some dinner before it get dark!” “Oh, you have a gas stove as well as electric nuh?” “You know ’bout.” “Well hear wah, I was not too far from you fixing a sistren computer, but friggin light gone….so you dun know. You have any lika at you yard?” “You know the answer to that my yute and you free to rope een.” “OK, ’bout fifteen minutes.”
By the time my bredrin arrived, dinner did jus done cook and we flexed in front of the fish tank on the patio. Still, no electricity. I fixed a beverage for us both and we both knock glasses and shoot the breeze. By the time we are finishing our second drink, night is starting to fall and the gas was a roll ’round in mi belly. I asked mi bredrin how him stay for some dinner and when I tell him what is on offer he smiles. Now the plan was that I would couple the chops with some of the leftover fried rice from Friday’s dinner. But heating up that shyte with no current to run a microwave entails work. Haffi put de rice inna one frying pan and light gas stove again to rahtid! 
Anyway, did what had to be done, buss open a can of corn and we ate dinner by candle light. We both commented that all that was needed to make it a wikid affair was some chicas.
We soon learn from a couple phone calls that most, if not all the country is without electricity!? 
A wah de rass a gwaan doh eeh? Only time I can recall suppem like that taking place is when our Light and Power peeps shut down the national grid as a safety measure when hurricane bloodcleat breeze a blow!
At about 8:30 the dogs start barking and the driveway gets lit up by the headlights of a car that I don’t recognize and it parks. “A who dat?”, I ask. The voice of one of my Pop’s bredrin replies, “Is me, doh fret.” Jokingly I reply, “Oh, cause I have the Glock right here pon cock!” We all have a good laugh. I let him in and he decided he would have a Red Stripe. He tells us he is coming from Old Harbour and he saw nothing looking like lights on his way here……..this not sounding good at all. He has heard that the whole country has been plunged into the dark ages!
Soon Daddy emerges from his room and decides he will have a Johnnie Walker and we end up having a nice man lime with lika, camraderie, laughs and many adjectives of the four (or more) letter kind! At 9:30 still in the darkness, I go for the little battery operated radio….bought two years ago when Ivan the Terrible was due to blow our way. Eventually, I manage to tune een to the 10 PM news on RJR. They confirm that the whole nation is screwed….and JPS, the electricity people ‘DO NOT KNOW’ what has caused it! Anyway, the news reported that restoration had begun but it could take another twelve hours to have all the country back from darkness. At about 10:30 PM, am getting some ice outta de deep freeze to make another round of drinks when there is a flicker and another, then the power is restored. All in all, it was a good Saturday night despite not having one of the basic utilities.
I see that our Prime Minister, Sister P, has ordered an investigation into the situation. I agree, someone needs to say something. BTW, I not sure about you, but I been seeing where many people doh seem to be as thrilled with Portia as they were when she took over office from PJ some months back…..I guess time will tell.
Anyhow, as I have electricity at the moment, the compi clock is telling me that the throne, shower and work yowing me up. So, mek me go do what a man has to. Have a good week, hopefully not in any unplanned darkness….as the Lord said, “Let there be light.” 
July 17th, 2006 at 10:14 am I just pass by Stunner’s blog and he quarrelling ’bout de same ting. Lemmie get this straight. Your PM is going to investigate a power outage? Really? Boy y’all Jamaicans tampered to rass. Man, deh does cut we light all de damn time. We doh even make a fuss ’bout it no more.
July 17th, 2006 at 11:57 am well dorna, it does bear investigation as it seems the power was deliberately cut due to the power company workers taking some kind of industrial action!
July 17th, 2006 at 12:03 pm Or so it is rumoured anyway
July 17th, 2006 at 4:17 pm Ahhhhh… Now that ain’t cool. If it was sabotage then someone’s arse needs to be in a sling.
July 17th, 2006 at 6:16 pm If that was industrial action they really proved a point eh.At least you had a small party still eh dr
July 17th, 2006 at 7:34 pm 7, I never knew you lurked in this part of the world still. Hi!
July 17th, 2006 at 8:43 pm The powercut is probably some fault, mechanical things fail sometimes. I think, I dunno. The thing I like about this post is…I never see a man who can enjoy life the way you enjoy life, Dr. D. You just take the darkness as it come, you cook, share your dinner, drinks…
July 17th, 2006 at 8:54 pm GG, one ting about dis yard that has held since I was a yute….our bredrins are always welcome, and is nutten to share food/drink wid dem. Same more or less holds when I visit their yard. Much as life does take a certain amount of forward planning, we have to live each day as it comes, for the moment and to the fullest. Darkness wasn’t going screw up a good lime. In fact, the dark may actually have added some ‘colour’ to it. Remember, we know not when our number will be called. Enjoy it to de max. Cheers!
July 18th, 2006 at 9:47 am Sabotage of the light situation on Saturday is on the down low but it has been said. All I know, Saturday was misery, sunday too and light went away at work 4 times yesterday. It is a disgrace. There is also speculation that the former PM who is now an executive consultant at the power company is first in line to purchase the entity! Talk about controversy. All I know, this gov’t going to have it rough to win the next election. Too many thing gone wrong since the start of this year alone.
July 18th, 2006 at 11:17 am nothing like no lights to offset you. accustom to have that happen in bim every now and then but when the lights switch off over here a few years back i man was well screwed. was living in th apartment back then too and the water pump din work so no water on the 7th floor where i was. serious business and lights and water was off from thursday night till sunday morning ya kno. seem like our little areas was the last to get sort out. things was ruff.
July 18th, 2006 at 3:56 pm Hey doc Now I see that Canadian “experts” will be touching down in Jamrock to find out exactly what happened in the blackout. We had one here on New Years Day a few years ago - of course, after Ivan, some folks here were without power for months after Ivan. I had none for 3 weeks.
July 18th, 2006 at 5:31 pm Ri, after Gilbert I had no electricity for 30 days. After Ivan, I was out for 7 days. These were adverse circumstances. The grid here and in Cayman were badly damaged by the forces of the hurricane(s). That is not the case with what occurred last Saturday. CD, right now I don’t see either of our political parties looking ready to win the next election. Who do you feel from either of the two P’s looks well placed to take on the leadership of the nation?
July 18th, 2006 at 8:24 pm Damn JPS! Do they have any idea how much they inconvienience people and businesses?
July 18th, 2006 at 9:37 pm No electricity, but you had dinner & drinks and had enough so your friend could join you. Nothing like the lack of electricity for a small gathering of friends.
July 18th, 2006 at 11:48 pm well di darkness didn’t stop me from going out to a 50th birthday party. They had a generator so it was as if nothing was wrong. And of course by the time I got back, there was light. power cut? what power cut?????
July 20th, 2006 at 7:14 am Well, I just picked up some friends and went by Pegasus hotel to hang out - you know the hotels will always have electricity since they cant leave their guests in darkness. After a while, went by another friend and had some food and chat until the electricity return. Was an ok night.