When is a flashlight not a flashlight?
When it joins the orchestra!
While this sounds like a joke that some of the kids would get up on stage to tell on Camp Cabaret Night, it is quite soberly a fact. To get everyone in the act, our compere Diarmuid, set challenges for to make music from unusual, not to say eccentric, sources. It is perfectly possible (Liam proved it) to make a joyful noise from a wheel wrench! It reminded me a little of a higher pitched tuba. Wind-up flashlights are not only practical and eco-friendly, they can also be pressed into musical instrument duty and make a delightful whizzing sound when wound.
In these northerly latitudes of Ireland we are beginning to notice the long, light evenings slipping away. With all the rain that has been deluging these Isles, we have needed to turn on indoor lights in the early morning much sooner than normal. The trusty wind-up flashlights have stood at the ready when the storms have knocked out our electricity for twelve hours at a stretch. On murky evenings we need them for the last dog outing of the day.
With my zeal to cut down on our consumption (and therefore, our waste) wind up solar flashlights have become my best ‘gadget.’ I keep one in the glove box of the car, one in my bedside cabinet and one by the front door for dog walking purposes. I am a bit skeptical about technological fixes but these flashlights are the biz! They get used regularly; consequently, we aren’t sending batteries to leak toxic material in land fill.
And as Diarmuid proved to us, when their practical uses have been exhausted you can open up a whole new section in the orchestra! Whizzzzzzzzzzz!
