The Year the Christmas Lights Went Out

THE YEAR THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS WENT OUT by Wayne Dixon That year began with promise. Henry Kissinger received the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in peace-making. Détente was in the air. But 1973 ended in darkness as a result of the energy crisis. President Nixon ordered curtailment of electricity usage as well as fuel due to the Arab embargo. How did we get in such a situation? The conflicts between Arabs and Israeli continued in what became known as the October War and the Yom Kippur War. Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, a time of solemnity and atonement. Israel was also celebrating its 25th year of independence. Arab nations surrounding Israel took advantage of the occasion to attack from all sides. Lebanon and Syria stood on the north, Jordan and Iraq on the east, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Morocco, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia on the south. Israeli forces were severely outnumbered as Egypt crossed the Suez Canal while Syria simultaneously invaded the Golan Heights that October 6th in an attempt to reclaim land lost to Israel in the 1967 war. That war had lasted only 6 days, while this war would last 16 days, with both conflicts resulting in victory by the Israelis. The Arab oil-producing nations decided to punish the West by withholding 60 percent of its production. I remember the results well. Not only did the lights go out, but we would severely limit driving . Even downtown Fresno suddenly seemed too far to go under the circumstances. Every destination was measured in mental miles. Another result, continuing to this day, was the banning of heating home swimming pools except for medical need. Even then, the cost became prohibitive. Many people permanently pulled out their pool heaters, but I kept mine in hope the ban would pass. It never did.