Unplugged in Loreto Bay

Saturday our Internet and phone went out here in Loreto Bay. Everything went kaput. But we weren’t alone because the entire development suffered the same fate. It was excruciating that first day. Initially, all I could think was "What if something happens out there in that other world, that world of family and friends and news in the States? How will we know what’s going on?"

Sunday morning dawned and still no Internet and no Vonage phone… Holy crap! I can’t read Frank Rich in the New York Times! I can’t read the New York Times period or Huff Post or emails or call my son in New Mexico as I do every Sunday! How will I spend my day?? What the hell is going on?

George and I groused and grumbled about Road9, the carrier that keeps us in touch with the outside world. Then we left for the Farmer’s Market as we do every Sunday. We saw other Loreto Bay home owners and compared notes about our isolation. "When will this end," we asked each other. We were all dismayed, but we’d had no word on how or why our lifeline was shutdown and for how long we’d have to be incommunicado. Agony!

When we got back from the Farmer’s Market there was still no phone service or Internet. We had to adjust because we had to rethink our whole day. And we did. I made waffles and bacon and fresh squeezed OJ for brunch. And we talked. Gasp! We talked instead of reading the news on the Internet and then groaning over what we were reading. We didn’t agonize over Tea Party insanity or Sarah Palin’s latest outrageous Tweet. We talked about the things that make up our day. Imagine that! And then we spent the day reading books. Good books that we always seem too willing to put aside, opting instead to read the mostly depressing news that keeps us tethered to the "real" world.

We went to bed that night wondering what the heck was going on and we awoke Monday morning to more of the same. No phone, no Internet. We shrugged and talked idly of the rumors that were circulating. Road9 has gone out of business we heard. They’ve walked away and we’ll never have Internet again. They’re upgrading to wireless. They’re being forced out by TelMex. You name it, we heard it. More shrugs. Oh well. Hey! Let’s read some more. Let’s go for a walk to see those jelly fish we heard about this morning. Let's talk.

Imagine that!

My thoughts kept going to the those hardy souls who moved down here before the advent of the Internet and Vonage or Skype phones. How the hell did they manage?! Weren’t they worried about staying in touch with family and friends? But you know what? They managed. They lived their lives and stayed in touch however they could.

Tuesday was more of the same, but it was easier to tolerate. More talking, more reading, a trip into town for Spanish lessons and a chance to check our email. Oh well.

This morning we woke to discover that Internet service had been restored. Although a large part of me was thrilled, a smaller part of me was not.

Imagine that.