Now that the news has stopped screaming hysterically about "BLACKOUT 2003!!! (three... three...three...)" a little perspective is probably in order. The only folks, in fact, who seemed to have a grip on the situation are the ones who were actually in it. If you've ever been in an extended blackout -- even one as short as two days -- you rapidly discover that despite the annoyance of having all the food go bad in the fridge, it really isn't that big of a deal. Even the worst case scenarios like being trapped in an elevator are pretty tame after you calm down and realize that not only are you not going to get there on time, but at the moment it doesn't matter if you are on time anyway.

Here, we had "special reports" from the news every 10 minutes to report that, yes, the lights were still out and, no, they still didn't know why. Apparently, even though the authorities admitted they didn't know why there was a blackout, we were still supposed to take their word for it that they knew it wasn't terrorism. I guess they really do think we are all stupid.

NYC got ALL the coverage, as if it was the only place that mattered. I guess that's understandable given the vast amount of New Yorker natives in California who constantly whine about how much better NYC is, but nonetheless never get around to moving back there.

There were bleeding heart stories about the poor people in NYC who had to walk to get home or, heaven forbid, didn't make it home that night to their suburban homes in Connecticut. Meanwhile, not a single mention about the thousands of New Yorkers who don't get home every night because they don't have one.

Then there were the horror stories of having 90 degree weather with *no air conditioning.* Of course, the millions in America (let alone around the world) that never have air conditioning are presumably surviving somehow.

The real story is the fragility of the modern American lifestyle that crumbles under the slightest technical bobble. Our windows don't open and we've forgotten how to walk and living 50 miles away from work is just slightly above normal. But don't expect the evening news to ask the hard questions. Instead, it'll be all about the SHOCK!!! of discovering your cell phone doesn't work.