- 07March 2013
Winning the lottery is no longer a dream for Lebanese. Instead, any average Lebanese dreams that his circuit breaker was miraculously upgraded to 10 amperes for free because even Benjamin Franklin himself doesn’t dare dreaming of 24h electricity in Lebanon! I was doing some research about electricity and I discovered that according to Wikipedia, “possibly the earliest and nearest approach to the discovery of the identity of lightning, and electricity from any other source, is to be attributed to the Arabs, who before the 15th century had the Arabic word for lightning (raad) applied to the electric ray.” It seems that for once we have really made a tremendous discovery, but as with any other discovery that is attributed to Arabs, we’ve excelled in messing it up.
But what if Lebanon gets permanent electricity? A nostalgic look back at the rationing period made me realize the things that I will miss.
I will miss the generator guy, the only perfect visitor: punctual, always in a hurry, talks a little and doesn’t expect your best hospitability. Over time, I have developed a weird relationship with him: He is now my In Case of Emergency person, he's number one on my speed dial list and the last time I checked my total call duration with him was greater than the time I spent talking to my husband.
I will miss the circuit breaker. I remember those freezing nights I spent under the rain begging it to stay up! Frankly, nothing has ever taken me that much effort!
I will miss romance! No more alibis for candlelight dinners or showers.
I will miss the kilograms I lost while exercising going down and up the stairs to adjust the device.
Apart from the nostalgia, I have to admit that rationing was enlightening:
It taught me how to be an energy saver -although unwillingly! (Turn off the light when you get out of the room, turn off the water heater when leaving the house, etc.)
It taught me things that Physics teachers were not able to teach me at school. (How many amperes do electrical devices consume? With 5 amperes you can only use your TV and refrigerator).
It taught me how to be a quick responder and helped me develop good reflexes. (When the electricity comes, run: turn on the water heater, start the washing machine, heat your food in the microwave. And when the cut occurs, run again, unplug the fridge, turn off the water heater, switch off the washing machine, etc.) Efficiency!
It taught me how to predict time. (That’s before Gebran Bassil when there was a time when rationing was on a six-hour basis).
It taught me innovation: download the flashlight application on your phone, connect your fridge to a UPS, a syringe of saline solution can make the current pass without breaking.