The Day That the Lights Went Out in Chandler

The email I was writing in mid sentence poofed away at noon yesterday.
The lights didn't even flicker - just a "click" and out.  Dark.
The Christmas music that brought life from upstairs died..
Silence and dark; not a good combination.

So, this is what I learned when I helplessly stepped outside the front door in wonder:

That I was so thankful for fresh air. . . and the brightness of the sun.
I learned about myself when I realized thet my first instinct was to rap on my neighbor's door.  (I never rap on her door unless I need something; but today I needed a friend.)
I learned her name was Phyllis (not Doris . . . . ooops!)
That she was born on Christmas day in 1956.
That her handicapped son is 6'4".
That other neighbors needed a friend too, as they peeked around their corners one by one  to make polite conversation about "no power".
The neighbor next to Phyllis is Korean. She stood out with us for a minute, even though she spoke in broken English.
That my eastern Indian neighbor on the west goes to LA Fitness.  (She declied my invitation to go walking.)
That more people on the street were actually home.  I really thought I was the only one home in the neighborhood during the day.
A new neighbor, Adam, lives across the street with his 2 cute little girls (that are with him every other week end). They were the unfamiliar girls that walked Hairy the day before.  (Now I know who they belong to, and he knows who owns the hairy dog they brought home to show him.)
That the outage was a good excuse for some much needed neighborhood connecting.

 I learned that I feel safer now.