The lights went out in New York Thursday. They went out in Cleveland, Toronto, Ottawa, and Detroit as well. Politicians said they warned us, experts said they predicted it, and no one said it was their fault. This was just a speed bump on the road of life, but it's amazing how no one looked at the warning signs littered all along the way.

On a slightly related subject, I cruised around in the cab on Friday. An irritating electronic beeping came from behind me. No one was in the back seat, but I knew right away it was a cell phone ringing. I pulled over to the side of the road and dug around on and under the seat until I found a black Nokia phone nestled in under the seat. I was driving cab 221, not one of the most popular cabs with over 500,000 miles on the odometer. Nobody I drove around that morning had called in missing a cell phone, so it was unclear how long the phone had been there.

Power is something most of us take for granted. Every time I write a column, I have to turn on the computer. Most of the modern equipment I own involves a plug. Refrigerator, washing machine, television, DVD player, bass amp, stereo system. Isn't modern technology great? Yeah, but how reliant are we on it for our own comfort? What do we do when it's taken away from us?

The people took to the streets in New York in mass. Even more than usual. With the bulk of the population relying on public transportation to get to and from home, the masses overflowed the sidewalks and filed into the streets. No terrorists to blame, no dictator to overthrow, just a serious problem caused by our own negligence.

The cell phone rang again while I drove down the street. It took me a few moments to figure out how to turn it on, and the person on the other line was looking for Scott. I explained the situation and said I would drop off the phone at the station after my shift was done. A half hour later, I got another call on the phone. It was a different lady who said I could drop the phone off at 2618 North Park. I'm a cab driver, and I know where Park Avenue is, but not North Park. I couldn't find it in the street map of Albuquerque either. I asked her where that was, and she said she didn't know. She was just giving me the address, and then she hung up. What the hell is wrong with people?

Maybe what's wrong is that we rely too much on little gadgets and electronic gizmos to run our lives. Not to say that the electric company is blameless for power outages, but I've come to expect a certain amount of incompetence from the local monopoly. How much power does one family need? How many plugs should we have? How many cell phones can we lose in the back seat of cabs? I've heard people say they can't live without this and they can't live without that, and all I can think of is a line in Fight Club: the stuff you own ends up owning you.

The massive power outage is on the mend with nary an apology or real explanation. These things happen, they say. Apparently, this means it will happen again. Politicians will say they warned us, experts will say they predicted it, and we will all be in the dark once again.

Due to fatigue at the end of a twelve-hour shift, I forgot to turn in the cell phone. I realized it was still in my backpack while I picked up a sandwich on the way home. I just wanted to go home. I didn't want to go back to the station which was farther away than my house. It was Friday. I didn't know this Scott character. The address was bogus. I hate cell phones in general. With two seconds of deliberation, I made my decision. I walked to the nearest public trash can and threw the phone away.

Now that's power.

Chris Jungle enjoys being in the dark.