Western Like I've Never Seen It

Last night around 12:30 am, I sat in the computer lab of Hunter Library typing a paper. Students occupied almost all of the computers, as the semester is coming to a close and the library is now open 24 hours.

Suddenly my computer screen and all the lights in the room went dark.

"Whoa!" I said loudly.

There was a pause of about three or four seconds as we all sat in pitch black before I heard a guy say, "Aw man, that is not cool! That is so not cool!"

I also heard people mutter a few expletives. After about 20 seconds, emergency generators kicked in and the fire alarm went off. The generators provided only minimal lighting.

We all stood up and began packing our things to leave the library. A friend of mine from the Netherlands who sat beside me asked a question. I misunderstood his English.

"You want to borrow $360!" I exclaimed.

"No," he said. "$3.60"

"Oh. Sure." But I correctly guessed that it was to buy a pack of cigarettes from Bob's Minimart, and I reminded him that Bob's closed at 11 pm, and that the power was probably off there as well.

He and I joined the mass exodus from the library. Power was indeed out all over campus.

I had never seen WCU like this. It was difficult to make out the sidewalks. The stoplights were out, and various generators over campus made loud noises as they dimly lit stairwells and halls in some of the buildings. I walked with my friend back to his dormitory at Albright-Benton, then headed up the hill to my room at Madison.

I encountered no one as I climbed the steps and graded sidewalks. The lack of light and humans made for lonely, eerie, and exhilarating emotions all at the same time. It was quiet except for a wind blowing through the trees and the sound of my footsteps. The stars were out along with a few clouds.

When I got to the parking lot of Madison, I stopped. The Big Dipper was right over the roof of my dorm, and it pointed to the North Star. I realized that this would probably be the only time in my life that I could see the stars from campus and also the buildings and objects I know so well covered in almost complete darkness, so I stayed outside for a few minutes to enjoy it. A meteor shot across the constellation over Madison.

The only thing that would make this better, I thought, would be a girl to enjoy it with me. But I shrugged. Sometimes girls make things worse.

Then I heard a police siren in the distance, and I was reminded that I probably looked like a suspicious character, just standing in the middle of a dark parking lot in my black leather coat.

So I headed inside, took a shower in the dark and went to bed. When I awoke this morning, the power was back on.

Until Next Time,

Nathan Marshburn