It was six o’clock and 104^○ of an early September day, and we were settled down watching the TV news. All was comfortable and serene.

Then just like that, without warning, the TV went black; the hum of the air conditioner ceased, clocks stopped, and appliances froze.

We were stunned. A power outage. How terrible. Food in the refrigerator and the freezer. What should we do? Panic started setting in.

Then slowly it occurred to us. Get out the candles, the matches, and the oil lamp. Sit down Don’t waste energy in useless handwringing. There was nothing we could do. It was out of our control. Relax. Wait it out.

We know, O Lord, it is inevitable that at any time we could be faced with upsets, emergencies, tragedies, minor, and heaven forbid, major. And prepared as we could be, we will still be unprepared.

Whenever that happens, O Lord, help us not to panic; to be unafraid. To stay calm and collected so we may do what has to be done. Help us to think positive thoughts, and have faith in our ability to cope.

And let us remember O Lord, that as dark as is the night, the sun will rise tomorrow.

I’m flabbergasted. This evening, I thought to post another of my grandmother’s invocations… a day after the power outage during Super Bowl XLVII between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers. A major glitch was blamed for the electrical belch.

No doubt, an overloaded power grid, during a scorching summer day in Burbank, California, caused the clocks to stop, appliances to freeze, and beloved air conditioner to cease in my grandparent’s house.

While people watching the Super Bowl expressed disappointment, confusion, amusement, and perhaps wonderment as to whether the game would be postponed or rescheduled, several spectators at the New Orleans Superdome, where the game was being played, were initially afraid. They wondered if the lights going out was a precursor to a terrorist attack.

The day after the Super Bowl, 30-minutes of darkness is little more than water cooler chit-chat. We can only hope that if it had been something more ominous, the authorities would have been prepared, and we wouldn’t have experienced the horror, which occurred on an early September morning, eleven years ago.