while reading...

... recently, I came across an expression that gave me pause. Something worded in an unusual way that really stuck in my brain, and has been perched there for several weeks, as I ponder. The story was a mystery, sort of creepy in the sense of one that makes you think there is going to be a real twist at the end, and the lead character will suddenly morph into someone completely different. Leaving you with the feeling the author was hiding something all along, as if there were some psychological stuff going on like multiple personalities.

That expression, I think probably a colloquialism common to people in the UK, as the plot line occurred in London, was 'mod con'. It took me a while to figure it out, even with the clues in the surrounding sentence, and context of small living space in a below ground-level apartment. The character involved was referring to the things that bring simplicity or ease to daily life: electricity and appliances that need power to operate. In-home devices that people who live in middle class America use without hesitation. Operating on automatic, without giving the fact of refrigerators or stoves, indoor cooking a second thought. We just open the door of the 'fridge, take out the meat, turn on the stove, get out the skillet and drop the food in the pan to cook. Amazing, if you stop to consider how readily those things are all available, as well as the electricity necessary to keep all in good working order.

One of those things that I frequently name on my list of things to be thankful for is electricity, as well as financial security/stability. The power to operate all those pieces of equipment us middle-classers find so essential to daily life is really a luxury, as there are many places in the world where it is not readily available. As well as places here in North America where people do not have the resources to consider it as something they expect when they get out of bed and flip a switch or adjust a thermostat. Thankful for being able to pay the power bill each month, and the idea that the Southern Companies are so dependable and constantly generating more power for us to be frivolous with.

Enjoy your mod cons! Just remember to be thankful that you do have electricity and those useful appliances to make your life easier: washers, dryers, comfortable living being not too hot and not too cold as seasons change. Remember to be a bit wary of the ease with which we have become addicted to this languid life-style, and how quickly it can all disappear if some crisis occurs in the grid that causes us to have to live without electricity. Scarey....