Hello, precious people. Elnora apologizes for being so fashionably late. Got her days mixed up. (That bump on the head!!) We've had a strange week in Elnora-ville. The temperatures are over the top and it's miserably hot. No way to glisten, so we must go ahead and sweat! On Wednesday--and you can not make this stuff up--a mylar balloon floated into a power substation and wrapped itself around something very important and caused the power to go out to around 17,000 customers (before the night was over.) Of course, that meant no electricity or air conditioning. Elnora had to find a hand fan, quick. But after off and on power surges (and that was just from me!) the power went dark again that night. So we lit candles, which made the house smell lovely, and sat in the dark and the quiet. No television, no internet, just the dark and ourselves. And guess what? You can entertain yourself while sitting in the dark.
But this whole episode was interesting because on our way home from New York, my darling Big Daddy had booked us a romantic stop--at Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. A cave? For Elnora?? Cute man, but clueless sometimes. Where was the champagne and chocolate covered strawberries? Where was the orchestra and a slow waltz? It was a nice quaint place with lovely scenery, so Elnora forgave him and promised to enjoy!
Until we got to the cave. Elnora doesn't do dark, crammed places. And it was especially interesting when the nice Ranger dude turned out all the cave lights and let us "experience" complete darkness and silence. But I have to admit it wasn't so bad as long as I held Big Daddy's hand like a vice and tried really hard not to think about bats and ax murderers and dark crevices where one could fall forever.
So the question is? Why are we so afraid of the dark? And why does it sometimes seem that even when the lights are on and God is smiling down on us, we are still in the dark??? Let's discuss.
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Ax murderers? Lenora, now that's some imagination!
ReplyDeleteOh, I remember doing that same tour at Mammoth Cave. The dark is really dark. We probably don't like the dark because we know evil things like darkness.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Merrillee. I first became scared of the dark when we had a trespasser on our farm. Turned out it was a neighbor trying to help secure equipment before a storm, but the fright scared me. That and watching scary movies in high school. But there was something peaceful about sitting in that dark cave. Walking around down there--Not So Much!!!
ReplyDeleteLyn, we were with a big group, so yes, I imagined they were all in it together and they were searching for gold or diamonds. It doesn't help that my current work in progress deals with hidden treasure! But--you have to trust people when you go down into the bowels of the earth with them!
ReplyDeleteI love going through caves. In AZ, we have the Kartchners Caverns. They are awesome.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun and I was amazingly calm. The rickety steel steps were the scariest part. But the beauty of God's work deep in the earth is truly awesome!
ReplyDeleteWe have caves here and it is interesting when they turn out the light as its pitch black. Another place which was scarier in many ways is Port Arthur which was a penal colony in Tasmania. They have some cells they used for solitary confinement for the convicts. They were in them for up to 23 hours a day or more sometimes for days and even weeks at a time. These cells had no windows or light. When we did the tour they actually shut us in and it was so dark. It was easy to see why the convicts went mad in there.
ReplyDeleteI think that the Fear of the Dark is instinctive.
ReplyDeleteAs are many of our fears. Our parents or educators help (teach) us to overcome them, but somewhere really deep the yiikes factor is lurking.
Thousand years ago, there were a very large number of large predators, many of which hunted at night. In the Dark. And humans knew better than to adventure in the dark; staying together, protecting themselves and... tcharam... putting children to sleep next to them. In case, one of those beasts came and took the kiddo away.
One has to love those clueless "romantic" suprises from men... a great opportunity to laugh, at least after we come out of the hole ahahahahah.
I'm with you though - seating in the cave, wallowing in that silence or in the non-sounds it's nice, walking there and descending even further... well, hubbies can be cruel ;). Maken sure you plan the next dream date with plenty os scented candles and a chick flick ahahah.
Thank, Teresa. I'll be the one doing the planning next time, I think. Jenny, I can't imagine being in solitary confinement! That would be the worst punishment.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the comments. I did enjoy the cave, even if it wouldn't have been my first choice!