Light of my Life

It is interesting that something as simple as a flashlight can bring memories rushing back. From the disposable Expo 67 flashlights my folks bought us at the world’s fair in Montreal to the little Cub Scout flip light my grandmother had given us, flashlights have played role in our lives. Not so much for giving light but for driving a stake in the ground during a certain time period. The fascination with flashlights has stayed with us – when we were older it was the powerful lantern that could send a beam high into the night sky. Nights when we threw the old tent up in the backyard and camped out, or just lie beneath the stars looking for meteors and UFOs. Lights taped to our toy rifles so we could be T.H.R.U.S.H. agents trying to off Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin. If you have to ask who those two were you are probably too young to be up so late – go to bed.

My brother was kind enough to send me a flashlight on one of my birthdays. It is a most notable light in that it features Roy Rogers, yet another one of my favorite childhood memories. It would have been the kind of light we would have gone crazy for because aside from the bright main beam it has a red emergency beacon. And you can’t top a light festooned with pictures of the most famous cowboy in the West (ok, the Hollywood version of the West)!! Best of all it makes me think of my brother making it the best flashlight I have owned to the present.