Nights in a Ronduvel

Nights in a Ronduvel

When I was growing up having the power go out was a novelty. We’d get one of those heady August thunderstorms or late January ice storms and we’d lose power for 20 minutes, an hour, maybe two. The candles and flashlights would come out, we wouldn’t be allowed to open the fridge (the desire for a glass of juice or a slice of cheese suddenly being realized) and we’d sit trying to decide what to do. Play cards? A board game? They all seemed so exciting by candlelight. The power would usually come back on with a flicker and a click-hum; the refrigerator turning back on before we could decide anything and that craving for cheese soon forgotten.

Living in a ronduvel without electricity is nothing like this.

What’s your typical night like? Take away checking your e-mail, chatting online or looking something up on Wikipedia. Take away primetime TV; The Office, Scrubs reruns, or, your guilty pleasure, Project Runway. Take away central heating. Instead, strike a match, light that paraffin lamp, wrap up in a blanket and, as the evening light wanes, explore the possibilities.

Books are top on my list, as are things involving books—writing one, looking up words in one (a dictionary) while making a crossword puzzle, reading up on vacation destinations, writing in my journal. Letter writing is up there as well, along with doodling and drawing and shaping things out of candle wax. There are usually dishes to be washed; the soft dome of light creating the perfect excuse for missing that smudge of soup residue on the pot (“I just couldn’t see it”). Podcasts are awesome to listen to while washing. Then there are the physical activities—yoga, something I like to call “ronduvel aerobics” which involves a lot of kicks, jumping and Richard Simmons-esque twisting moves, dancing—these being a necessary prerequisite to bathing during the cold months.

The list goes on, and I am sure that the longer I am here the more diverse it will become.

N.B. Not all of my nights are like this, I do do school work and work on projects. This is just a sampling of what life is like on down nights.