Connections, by Paul Grant

 

                                                

 

 

Buy my books here: https://www.bookswelove.com/

Or here:                     https://books2read.com/Notorious-Moose-Jaw

 

 

“You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone,” sang Joni Mitchell in Big Yellow Taxi.  She was referring to Paradise, but the same goes for the internet.

Last week a spring snowstorm brought gale force winds and thundersnow to most of Saskatchewan.   Thundersnow, as you’ll know from reading my novel Astraphobia, is a rare type of thunderstorm that contains snow instead of rain.  And the lightning it produces is just as lethal.  It knocked out the power around here for several hours, and when the lights came back on, the internet didn’t.   

 

Our ISP told us that demand was heavy and it would be three or four days before they could send out someone to fix the problem.  Three or four days without the internet?  Three or four days without the world at our fingertips?  Quel dommage!  Fiber optics are woven into the fiber of our being.

 

Every morning over coffee we scan several newspapers on Press Reader, available on-line through our local library.  We check our bank statement, maybe write a few letters, research summer travel destinations, or look at Facebook or other social media.  I may send a query to JD or Jude, or maybe do some research on cover art for my new novel America.  We listen to internet radio from all over the world and in the evening we stream TV shows through Netflix, Britbox and other sources.  None of these activities is possible without the internet. 

 

Of course being without the internet is not as dire as being without electricity, or food, or a place to live.  All our problems should be so small.

 

We settled down after supper with our books.  I’m reading The Bellini Card (Picador 2008) by Jason Goodwin.  It’s set in Istanbul of the 1840s, and after reading a few pages I wanted to look up a map of the area to follow the lead character Yashim on his travels.  On my phone, Google Maps showed Istanbul curving like a jewel along one shore of the Sea of Marmara.  And then it dawned on me.  We were magically reconnected to the internet.

 

Oh frabjous day!  Callooh!  Callay!   Life as we know it was possible again.  I could check email, read the news, search for concerts, or shop for a toaster.  My banking info was at my fingertips.  The wide wide world was just a keystroke away.  All our problems should be so small.  

 

The characters in Astraphobia and Notorious have bigger problems than losing connectivity.  Problems like being struck by lightning or killed over a drug deal.  I hope you’ll read both books.