A strange thing happened in Westlock last Saturday night — at about 7:30 p.m., the whole mood of the town changed.
Very suddenly, it seems like there were twice or three times as many people out in their yards and in the streets, engaging with their families and with their neighbours.
Computer keyboards sat unused. Every Playstation controller in town was set aside. Living rooms from Southview to Whissellville were unlit by the characteristic blue glow of television screens.
Even the digital clocks, which so many of us rely on to mete out our day’s activities, sat blank.
People turned to each other, almost unsure of themselves, and said, “Well, should we… go outside, maybe?”
Whole families could be seen going for walks together through, the residential neighbourhoods, or sitting around in their backyards enjoying the last of the day’s sun.
People were leaning against their backyard fences, catching up with their neighbours.
Many got fires going in their backyard fire pits, and just sat around talking or roasting various delicious treats. So what was it that got so many people off their couches and outside, into the warm summer evening that will surely be one of the last of the season?
What inspired this last hurrah of celebration before people turn their attention back to the autumn and winter that are just around the corner?
It wasn’t a sudden realization of how disconnected we can be from each other, even from the people whose homes lay fewer than 10 metres away from our own. It wasn’t a sudden realization that summer will soon end and we will be forced to spend more time inside where it’s warm.
No, all it took was a power outage. Certainly, it gave many residents the opportunity, if even for just two short hours, to go outside and enjoy a summer evening.
Hopefully, it will have inspired us to turn off all our devices and spend more time together as friends, families of our own volition.
