Did you survive the ‘black-out’ last night (Friday)? Having worked a rather long day and only returning home at 9pm on Friday I was inundated with queries about the ‘black-out’. There was electricity. There was light (same as electricity I know), and there was TV…but alas there was NO wifi. Heavens above the peninsula was in darkness. But was it?
Facebook was awash with complaints about how to survive Friday night. What could I do? Only suggest the cards, the NORMAL TV, the art of talking, of reading, of conversation. Alas, none was sufficient. Wifi was down and the entire area was in ‘total black-out’. Such is the modern world.
Wifi really sh
owed its true colours earlier this evening. Young and not so young, were lost as to how to pass the night. Even RTE (alas The Late Late Show wasn’t even available on what we now know as normal TV). Even I had to ask ‘himself’ how I could get RTE to watch Ryan and Co. tonight. With 3 remote controls I had NO idea how to access RTE. Such is the power of wifi and the internet and even contemporary TV.
I was immediately transported in mind back to my holiday last summer with ‘himself’ in Majorca. We spend 12 nights there on the sunny island and of course we frequented the bars, restaurants, galleries and more. But my most memorable night was the Saturday night we spent playing cards on our balcony. Our normal Saturday night at home is spent with friends in the local bar, sipping drinks, talking all things local, gossiping, and even watching Internet TV. But on this night in Majorca we had a glass of wine (maybe a few) and a deck of cards. We played ’25’, we played ‘3 and an Ace’ and yes, we even played ‘Snap’. We fought and we argued. We laughed out loud and we sat till the wee hours. We didn’t need ‘wifi’ that night to entertain ourselves. We did it all manually. It brought us right back to when our children were little kids. The nights when we played card games, board games and just talked, laughed and had fun in a very simple, humble way.
Tonight I was lost. I won’t deny it. Heavens, I had NO Facebook. I had NO Instagram. But I survived. And I’m guessing you all did too. Do we really need ‘wifi’? NO. Of course we don’t.
So as the total ‘black-out’ has now passed, do remember how you spent that time. Maybe take some more days and do similar. It really won’t go unnoticed.
I’m the first to admit I’m a ‘wifi’, ‘internet’ addict. But I also know there’s so much more to the real world. The ‘wifi’ and ‘internet’ world are NOT real. Our card playing, board game playing, time-together is so much more fun. Those are the days we will remember. Hell I beat the crap out of ‘himself’ at cards that night in Majorca, and I’ll never let him forget it. He or I won’t remember the nights we missed talking or evenings arguing ‘cos we were on Facebook or ‘snapping’ a colleague or acquaintance. Remember the real times. Remember the real world. 
Maybe more ‘black-outs’ will allow us more precious memories. I know my precious memories of family and good times do NOT include ‘wifi’ or ‘internet’.
February 16th in Inishowen might be a lesson to us all to remember what’s really important. Go pick up a book. Buy a deck of cards. Play ‘snakes and ladders’. Argue and debate over who really has the ‘trump’ card. When it comes to ‘him and me’ I’ll always have the trump. Ha.
Wifi free, is so much more fun.
GMcC