Living Unplugged
by Benjamin Roberts
An event that is significant to me is when I was able to experience what it is like to live without electricity. People used to live without it for thousands of years, but now society relies heavily on electricity and technology. Having the chance to experience a week of living without electricity, I witnessed how people can enjoy themselves, despite not being able to do certain things.
I experienced this week-long vacation event about twenty minutes from where I live in Duxbury, Massachusetts. The name of the area is Saquish, which is located a town over from Duxbury in the town of Plymouth. You would never think that there is anywhere in Massachusetts that doesn't have electricity, but this is what makes this area unique from its surroundings.
To get to this location you must use a boat or a car with four-wheel drive to make it through the sand. First, you need to cross a large wooden bridge over the ocean. Next, you must drive down a four-mile dirt road until you get to sand. Then the fun part- you put your car in four-wheel drive and drive down the beach. Throughout this journey you will not see any power lines. Once you are on the beach you have arrived; almost all of the houses on Saquish are waterfront homes.
For three summers my family has rented a house on Saquish for one week. Two of the years my father rented the house and the other year my grandparents did. Many of the memories I have there are spent on the beach in front of the fire or in the ocean. The sun rises right in front of the beach, along the horizon, with nothing to see under the orange glow but water. As the ocean waves crash on the shore, you can taste the salty spray. The only sounds are the distant horns from ships and the waves coming up on the shore. The smell of the marsh and salt water cover the air. In the early morning, I take walks along the foggy beach, and the whole town is sleepy. I can feel the slight dampness from the air on my skin. There is not a person in sight.
Because I have spent multiple weeks on Saquish throughout my life, I have witnessed what it is like to live without electricity. Most of the houses on the peninsula are old and some don't even have running water. There are a few with small amounts of power and propane for heating water or cooking. The people on Saquish have adapted to life without electricity. In today's world it is very hard for people to do their everyday routine without electricity. Most people rely on things like their computer or phone for work related reasons, but people out on Saquish have no access to any of these things.
Even though many of the people around this area have enough money to live more luxuriously, there seems to be a certain pride in doing things simply. Sitting on the beach, you can watch fishermen and lobstermen collect their daily catch from the traps and nets. People dig for clams and have them at night for their family dinner.
Spending time in Saquish every summer gives me a chance to spend quality time with my friends and family. None of us have phones or TV or computers to distract us. Instead we do things like fishing, swimming, kayaking. Then at night we sit around a bonfire all, play cards, or learn magic tricks from my grandfather. This experience is important to me because I know that being involved and really being a part of these moments is special, even if it might not seem that eventful. Being in Saquish makes me feel like I'm living back in time. Usually people don't think of this as a good thing, but to me it has got its advantages.
Witnessing an entire community of people living without electricity, but enjoying life as fully as people with all of the modern conveniences, made a significant impact on me. Not having electricity took away a lot of the distractions of normal life and made it easier to appreciate the people and scenery around me. I'm already looking forward to next summer and another week spent unplugged on Saquish.