Okie dokie...
Wow... I guess you aren't.
Help me out here, Maxwell.
There exists a lake in which water waves may stand. There exists a _____ in which electromagnetic waves may stand.
The lake exists whether waves ripple in it or not and water waves rippling imply the existence of the lake in which they stand. What exists in which light waves ripple, and exists at rest, all the time, everywhere, even when they're not around? "Potential?"
What confuses me is that a field and a wave get talked about as if they showed up together and fucked off together once the wave is no longer doing its thing. The notion of a field only seems to apply to a space where there are electromagnetic goings on. The electromagnetic lake would would have to be pervasive, but no one seems to talk about a 'field' where there's no electromagnetic phenomenon manifest.
I could research it, I guess, but it's easier to just ask Getbig.