If you’re old enough to have studied history in school, you probably know about the blackouts that happened during World War II in the European theatre. If you’re more of the Gen X age, you might think I’m referring to the thick curtains light sleepers need to get a night’s sleep.
Or maybe you’ve never given it much thought at all. In that case, remember the eclipse that happened last year, when for a few short minutes the lights turned off and parts of the globe were pitched into utter darkness?
That’s a blackout!
An eerie feeling that produces deep thoughts. And just last week I experienced something quite similar. Being totally out of touch while still in the world, just like what happened all across Europe 85 years ago when dictators were bombing the dickens out of every country they wanted to occupy.
Blackouts are what the Voice of America lifted, by sending news, music, announcements, information and hope - around the globe. And of course, the VOA and Public Broadcasting have continued to do so until recently.
Just last week the administrative arm of VOA was forced to issue pink slips to 85% of its staff, spelling the end to a broadcast network created to push back against Hitler and the Nazi propaganda. A total of 1,400 positions had been eliminated by decree of DJT#47 to save money and reduce the US budget.
This is disastrous news for worldwide democracies.
All I did was leave my cozy nest to go help a brother who had just moved. I looked forward to a road trip through central Texas which was long overdue, but the blackout I ran into was like stepping into a closet with no light switch.
Having just moved and being a single man, this only brother of mine hadn’t anticipated some of the challenges of his new homesite situated in a national forest 30 minutes off the interstate. I hadn’t expected needing to leave a bread crumb trail coming and going either. No, I had no GPS service but I got a free current map at a tourist stop!
Bro was still working through all the necessities of a recent move, like tracking down the technicians needed to connect the television and WiFi. Getting answers on a weekend? Nah.
So, no television. The big screen was blacked out. And my iPhone couldn’t pull up any answers that might help. It took a trip to town (30 minutes away) to find connections at the local H-E-B.
It’s a good thing we enjoyed each other’s company ‘cause that was about all we did have. No news except for a few headline recaps on the phones. No telephone chats or appointments scheduled and verified. No music!
Where were all those technicians who would connect us? Danged if we knew.
There was the beautiful sound of silence, however. Birds chirping, lawn mowers humming all around us, humidity clogging sinuses while the local alligator cruising lazily down the canal amused us. The neighbor next door assured us that the gator was a local pet, not to be feared. Yeah, right.
What’s not to like about a wilderness blackout? We had everything possible – except news and contact with the outside world. The next trip to town, I found that the newspapers were also nonexistent. What?
The Dollar General clerk thought he remembered seeing one at the Brookshire across the freeway. This situation was becoming serious.
I wasn’t at all amused about it. I was jonesing!
A blackout is what entire continents suffered during WWII when the Nazis were confiscating ham radio operators trying to rescue people. No news is not good news. No news is awful!
My visit was ending the morning that DISH showed up at 8:15 a.m. Bro was ecstatic, reclining in the easy chair and flipping through channels - and so was I, happy at the thought of locating some radio news on the drive north. Our misery was ending.
Still, a road trip offers other fun, stopping for kolaches in Ennis and peaches in Fairfield - and dodging tire separations up and down the interstate between stops at Buc-cees!
My blackout ended when I opened the gate at home. My news for now was that there was none this past week - that I knew about.
And the best part? Getting home to sleep in one’s own bed and dream about the days ahead of hacking through the weedy landscape after a road trip through Texas.
The sad part ahead is that the political blackout is just beginning. With Voice of America being silenced from sharing news from the Free World, everyone will suffer.
Shelly has worn more hats in the communications field than Carter had pills but forgot to retire when she closed her promotions business. She earned a BA in Journalism at NTSU (before it became UNT) and has never lost her love of words.