Cheramy Rusbuldt: 'Out, Out Brief Candle' - Macbeth arrives in McKinney

I’ve always despised winter in Texas. We have no snow for Christmas, but we have ice and assorted discomforts January through March. Well, this year, we had snow, snow and more snow! It wasn’t for Noel, but at least it beat the pants off the ice storms, dreary drizzle and general funk I associate with this neck of the woods. (I pray this is not a taunt to make the rest of our “winter” unbearable!)

In moving from the “old” old house, I neglected to supply myself with the oil lamps, candles and flashlights which could sustain me through a blackout. Living on the farm for so many years in rural Virginia, I learned to equip myself for that eventuality, though I suspect the threat here is rapidly receding. Nevertheless, my new mantra is to get ready, just in case.

In the snow storm from which we are emerging, there are plenty of problems. I have huge limbs down in my front yard (magnolia trees don’t lose their leaves in the winter, so they are totally susceptible to crashing). I have melted pools of liquid in my yard, torrents descending from the roof into and over inadequate gutters, etc., etc., etc. What I haven’t had, thankfully, is a general power outage. So, during the whole event, I could watch TV, microwave individual pizza pies, flush toilets and stay reasonably warm, which is more than I can say for so many Metroplex customers deprived of Reddy Kilowatt

There is one thing, however, which defies all logic. For the more than a year since I have owned my “new” old house in McKinney’s Historic District, there has been a street lamp directly in front of the old cottage. It has been on day and night, ignoring what I assumed must have been a sensor to turn it off during the day. It never turned off. Though I intended to report the inconsistency several times to the City, other challenges intervened and the darned thing glowed on and on. Until the storm.

Suddenly, inexplicably, that beacon went dead. Others on the block continue to perform their on-again, off-again behavior, bathing neighboring driveways in safety light, but mine has shuffled off this mortal coil to Hades. Perhaps the phenomenon is akin to all the other ills this poor abode has suffered: sinking foundation, crashing roof, plumbing failures, critters in the attic, failing telephone connection. Or, it just might be my own karma, having taught “Out, Out, Brief Candle” during my salad days as a student teacher in San Antonio in the last century.

Macbeth’s “Out, Out” soliloquy in Shakespeare’s Act. V was an integral part of my attempt to engage obstinate students in the arcane language and centuries-old culture battling their exposure to glue-sniffing at lunch and binge drinking at football games. It was tough, especially for a beginner toiling in public education. But it became much more than that when I met my Dear Departed. It was the only Shakespearean quote he knew by heart, and he often waxed Bardlike to impress me. It worked!

How ironic that all this has come full circle. I have no street light. I miss my husband. I struggle to maintain balance in this crazy world. Is anyone at the City of McKinney listening? If yes, please come light my fire.

Cheramy Rusbuldt is a free-lance journalist who resides in McKinney’s Historic District. Her column appears Sunday in the McKinney Courier-Gazette.

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