The Green Light

All I want right now in this world at the moment is for the light on my laptop’s charging cord to turn green.

That’s it.

As I write this, I’m uncertain if the battery will die. It’s currently at two percent. The charger is plugged in, and the light is a light yellow, almost cream. At random intervals, it will turn orange but never green.

There are glimmers of hope. Sometimes it turns green, and if I keep it connected to the charger, it will stay green.

Then I get overly confident. I begin to believe that since it’s been green for a while, this is the time it will stay green.

If I ever unplug it, the charge in the battery decreases, naturally, and when I plug it back in, the light won’t turn on. It won’t be light yellow, orange, or green. It will remain unlit.

Then I will chide myself unforgivingly. I’ll think things like, “You ignoramus. You knew it wouldn’t start charging again if you unplugged it.” Or “You think you’re real smart, don’t you, Driscoll? When will you ever learn?”

How did we get into this predicament with the laptop? Sorry. That’s classified.

I can’t even say something vague like, “I’d like to stay married. So I’ll keep my mouth shut.” So, once again, that’s confidential information. So stop asking. Don’t even think it in your mind, please. Thank you.

I hope and pray that someday it will turn green and stay green.

And that’s all I want for Christmas. A battery that charges consistently. A charger whose green light always comes on when the connection is made.

So in case you were wondering what’s at the forefront of my mind every time I write a post, that’s it. I sit here and stare to the immediate left of the keyboard and wish for a green light to appear.

I read a book last year about green lights. Okay, it wasn’t about green lights. It was about something else, but the book had a story about green lights.

The author was a professional speaker who was also an amateur pilot. He rented a plane and flew to a speaking engagement in a neighboring state.

As he neared the airport on his return flight, he flipped the switch to lower the landing gear. Normally a green light would appear, indicating that the landing gear was in the locked and loaded position.

But on this particular night, there was no green light. The tiny LED bulb was not working. So he didn’t know for an absolute fact that the landing gear was down and ready to bear the plane’s weight once he executed his landing.

He thought he might have to circle the airport and ask another pilot to fly up there with a flashlight and fly alongside him to check if it was down. But he didn’t have enough fuel for that.

So he just had to trust that the landing gear was ready and trust the process. He would either feel the soft bounce of rubber tires hitting the pavement, or he would hit the asphalt and skid to a stop at some point and hope that the plane wouldn’t burst into flames. And he hoped he’d still be alive.

He said a quick prayer and headed toward the runway. Thankfully, he felt the landing gear underneath him as he descended onto the tarmac.

He said life was like that sometimes. You don’t know if there’s a green light or not. Sometimes you don’t have any other choice but to land the plane.

That has absolutely nothing to do with my charging cable except that the plane and my cord both have green lights that aren’t working properly.

Anyway, maybe you’ll get something out of it.

I made it through another post without losing power. Please pray for my laptop battery. And for the green light to appear. Thanks.

to those who need to land the plane,
– Caleb